NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said after today’s meeting that the league’s owners are determined to reach an agreement with the players, and that after gauging the owners’ opinions, he believes they’re on the same page about how to go forward.
“We have a very strong view of the priorities, a very strong view of what we need to continue to accomplish in the negotiations, and a determination to get there,” Goodell said.
But Goodell also cautioned against irrational exuberance, saying that there are still plenty of details that need to be ironed out before the owners and the players can agree to a deal that ends the lockout and starts the season.
“We have a lot of work to do,” Goodell said. “We’ve got to do it right.”
Overall, Goodell said the best thing to take away from recent developments in the NFL is the mere fact that negotiations are underway.
“I think it’s a tremendous positive that the principals are talking,” Goodell said. “Players and owners are talking to one another, negotiating, and I think that’s a positive step. Hopefully we’ll be successful in reaching an agreement that’s fair and balanced for everybody.”
Goodell said he hopes that work will continue until there’s a CBA proposal that the owners and the players can vote on.
“All of us are going to work hard for something that we can bring back to our ownership and they can bring back to the players,” Goodell said.