On Friday, the NFLPA will conduct an annual meeting with union-certified contract agents in Indianapolis. On Thursday, the NFLPA held a pre-meeting meeting with a select group of agents.
Per multiple sources, the discussion included the question of whether the union should press the NFL to start free agency earlier.
Some agents believe that the two-week lull between the end of the Scouting Combine and the start of free agency suppresses spending by giving teams an opportunity to decide to defer certain needs to the draft process, reducing the willingness to spend in free agency. Also, players would like to get their signing bonuses and know their fate for the coming season (and beyond) sooner.
The extra time can reduce spending in a different way. It gives the teams more time to compare notes among themselves regarding the market value at various positions. Even though to do so constitutes collusion.
Last year, the NFL proposed bumping free agency deeper into the offseason, creating a three-month offseason tour starting with the Scouting Combine in March, free agency in April, and the draft in May. The union resisted delaying free agency, for some of the same reasons the agents now want to accelerate it.
With both sides wanting to move free agency in opposite directions, chances are it will stay put.