No Deal Yet in NFL, Player Dispute

(Newsroom America) -- While owners and players have agreed upon the major points of what could become the NFL's new 10-year collective bargaining agreement, both sides still have some issues to work out, league sources said Saturday.

Players have yet to schedule a vote on a package that owners approved 31-0 on Friday, with the Oakland Raiders the only team abstaining. Players, player reps and lawyers have been perusing the document since, and as of late Friday appeared to be in no hurry to ratify it.

Still, NFL.com reported, four major points have been agreed upon by both sides.

"The financial structure has been set, as have most of the playing rules, length of rookie contracts and salary-cap structure. Some of the finer details -- like the overall financial specifics of the new rookie wage system and elements of potential HGH testing -- have yet to emerge, but they likely will once players ratify a deal," said the NFL.com report.

Among the major points agreed upon include a reduction in offseason camps and padded workouts; game-day rosters now at 46, a rule change meaning that teams will no longer have to designate their No. 3 quarterback as the "emergency" QB; training camp rosters of 90 players instead of 80; and salary cap exemptions in 2011 and 2012.

The latter point, said the report, means that teams up against the $120 million cap will have the ability to possibly retain players who would otherwise have been cap casualties. This year, teams would have a $3.5 million credit and could borrow up to $3 million from future salary caps to pay veteran players, giving them a total cushion of $6.5 million. And next year, teams would be able to borrow up to $1.5 million from future salary caps, again in order to retain veteran players.

Other reports Saturday indicated that a player agreement could come at some point over the weekend, which would end the lockout and get players back in team facilities to prepare for the upcoming season.

Some analysts have said it's likely most players won't arrive to training camps in anything close to football shape, meaning injuries are likely to be higher than normal.

The preseason was originally scheduled to begin Aug. 7 with the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, between the St. Louis Rams and Chicago Bears. It wasn't clear Saturday if that game would be pushed back or if any of the pre- or regular season would have to be rescheduled.

© 2011 Newsroom America.

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