NFL, UNION REACH DEAL TO OPEN CAMPS ON TIME

The NFL and its players’ union completed a settlement Friday on economic issues — related to an expected revenue drop this season because of the novel coronavirus pandemic — to clear the way for teams’ training camps to open on time for all players, averting a shutdown contemplated by team owners.

Each side ratified the agreement, crafted late Thursday by negotiators for the NFL and the NFL Players Association, in separate conference calls. The owners’ approval came first in a call that included teams’ general managers and head coaches. The deal was ratified later Friday by team-by-team player representatives for the NFLPA, following a unanimous recommendation for approval by players on the union’s ruling executive committee.

The vote of the player reps was 29-3, the NFLPA announced.

Owners had mulled halting training camps and sending players home if no deal were struck, a person familiar with the league’s inner workings said Thursday. There also had been consideration, according to the league-owned NFL Network, of making camps entirely virtual to keep players off the field until the economic issues were resolved.

But the league and union avoided such a shutdown with their settlement, which amounted to an amending of some collective bargaining agreement terms. Players began reporting to their teams’ training camps this week. Those players underwent coronavirus testing but have not been permitted to enter teams’ training facilities yet, under the NFL’s health protocols. For most teams, veteran players are scheduled to report to camps Tuesday.

Under the terms of the agreement, the salary cap for the 2020 season remains the same, at $198.2 million per team. The salary cap for the 2021 season drops no lower than $175 million per team. There had been fears of the 2021 salary cap falling below $130 million per team, based on a significant drop in revenue this season.

Players will be paid a prorated portion of their salaries for the 2020 season if the regular season starts but cannot be completed. That issue had been considered crucial by the owners, to contain their potential costs in an abbreviated season.