Players’ union sends CBA to vote

Players received ballots for a proposed 10-year extension to the Collective Bargaining Agreement from the NFLPA on Thursday and have seven days to submit their vote.

Ballots are due on March 12, the players union said in a statement.

A “yes” from a simple majority of the players in the union would bring an unprecedented 11 years of labor peace to the NFL.

If a majority of the voting players approve, the deal will go into effect immediately, as the owners already have approved it.

Among the central points in the new CBA sparking debate among players is the addition of a 17th regular-season game starting in 2021, which NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith implied was tied to the reduction of preseason from four games per team to three.

NFL player representatives voted 17-14-1 to approve the deal at the NFL Scouting Combine, clearing the way for the full union vote.

While superstars who have hit $100 million paydays such as Russell Wilson and J.J. Watt were quickly and heavily critical of the proposed pact, several player reps indicated the deal serves the majority of the union in multiple ways. That includes the addition of downtime in the offseason, as well as immediate raises for those making at or near minimum NFL salaries. There is also additional money set aside for practice squad players and the expansion of gameday rosters, which will be tied to higher wages for those added or activated on game day.

The playoffs would be expanded from 12 to 14 teams under the proposal.

Under the proposal, players also would receive a greater percentage of revenue, set to increase from 47 percent to 48 percent and go as high as 48.5 percent. Over the lifetime of the deal, the increase is projected to be a total of $5 billion in extra pay to players.