Next week’s labor talks will start with a similar structure to the last two weeks: The lawyers will start face-to-face work on Monday. Albert Breer of NFL Network reports that owners and players are expected to arrive Tuesday or Wednesday.
This news comes on the heels of two days of talks described as frustrating with “little progress” made on Friday. Florio reports a stalemate has arisen over the rookie wage scale.
It remains to be seen whether this slowed progress is an inevitable part of the process, or a hint this could still drag on a while. We’ll say it again: No matter how “close” we hear things are and how much progress has been made, closing the deal is the hardest part.
Timetables continued to be guessed at publicly and adjusted. Optimism remains.
I try to remember that even Roger Goodell and DeMaurice Smith don’t know how or when this will end. So how can anyone else?