Players don't vote, NFL Owners ratify new CBA

Hall of Fame Game cancelled

July 21, 2011|KWCH 12 Eyewitness Sports

COLLEGE PARK, Ga. — A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press that players didn't vote Thursday on a tentative agreement to end theNFL lockout because they had not seen the full proposal approved by owners.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the process is supposed to be secret.

Owners overwhelmingly voted for a tentative agreement earlier Thursday, pending an OK from the players, who later held a conference call to discuss the proposal. That call ended without a vote.

Before the call began, NFL Players Association head DeMaurice Smith wrote in an email to the 32 team representatives: "There is no agreement between the NFL and the players at this time.

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What looked like sunny skies in the NFL labor battle turned dark as word came that the NFL players will likely not vote on the collective bargaining agreement the owners agreed on Thursday afternoon.

If the NFLPA ratifies the new CBA, the players could report to facilities as soon as Saturday to begin working out.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the new NFL year would begin on Wednesday.

The supplemental revenue sharing system is the largest obstacle in the way. The owners agreed to give the players 48 percent of all revenues. The players are surprised by that, saying they never agreed to that.

The league has given the players until next Tuesday, 26th, to vote before it is null and void.

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NFL owners have voted in favor of a tentative agreement to end the lockout, pending player approval.

Thursday's ratification came after a full day of meetings at an Atlanta-area hotel, where team executives pored over the terms of the deal.

Players still have to sign off on the deal. They didn't vote on a full pact Wednesday because there were issues that had not been resolved.

They plan to have a conference call later Thursday. The four-month lockout is the NFL's first work stoppage since 1987.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says the Hall of Fame game between St. Louis and Chicago has been canceled despite owners voting in favor of a tentative deal to end the lockout, pending player approval.

The Rams and Bears originally were scheduled to open their training camps this weekend and play in the Hall of Fame game to open the preseason schedule on Aug. 7 in Canton, Ohio.

Goodell says Thursday that the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will go on as planned but says "the time is just too short" to have the teams prepare and play the game as scheduled.

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