In the emotion and confusion of last night’s labor drama, we weren’t able to break down some of the smaller details of the NFL’s ratified new comprehensive agreement.
We know the players haven’t voted on the agreement yet, but the reality is that DeMaurice Smith and his executive committee have already agreed to nearly all the major deal points in the agreement that interests fans. The holdup in the vote is essentially over recertification and the remaining issues like discipline that will be addressed after the players are a union again.
Despite the outcry, the broad measures in the proposal will be the backbone of the next CBA. The question is how we are going to cross the finish line, but the 99% of the document isn’t going to change, if anything does.
Let’s start looking at the proposal with one of the first orders of business after the players ratify the CBA: Undrafted players.
Undrafted players will sign three-year contracts. Teams will get 24 hours to negotiate with them before being allowed to officially sign them. It shouldn’t take that long to lock down verbal agreements. In theory, the negotiating would begin Saturday.
We’ll find out by the end of the day if that can happen in practice.