Scheduling challenges forced the NFL Players Association to scrap an in-person Thursday meeting of the 32-member board of player representatives. The union will try it again on Friday, without getting everyone in the same place at the same time.
Ben Fischer of Sports Business Daily reports that the NFLPA will conduct a conference call with its board of player representatives on Friday. That will happen a day after all owners meet in New York City today to discuss the deal that’s currently on the table, and possibly to reduce it to a bottom-line, final-position list of terms.
The union’s procedures require the Executive Committee to recommend the deal to the board of player reps. Then, if at least two-thirds of the representatives approve, the measure goes to the full membership for a 50-percent-plus-one vote.
As best we can discern, the primary resistance to the league’s proposal has come from the 32 player representatives.
Via Fischer, an unnamed union official saiid that, to finalize the deal by the start of the league year on March 18, the two sides will need to have an agreement in principle in place by the end of the Scouting Combine, which happens next week in Indianapolis.
As previously explained, the league’s desire to pivot to TV negotiations with labor peace gives the current process even greater urgency. And the players directly will benefit from an approach that maximizes the money generated by televising the games.
UPDATE 3:35 p.m. ET: A prior version of this story indicated that the NFLPA’s conference call would be open to all dues-paying members. Fischer has since revised his report to confine the call to the 32 player representatives.