NFL Season to Begin Following new CBA Deal

(Newsroom America) -- Owners are players praised the new 10-year collective bargaining agreement they signed Monday, signalling an end to the NFL player lockout in time to begin the regular preseason as scheduled.

"Football is back," said both NFL Commission Roger Goodell and NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith in making the announcement.

"I'd like, on behalf of both sides, to apologize to the fans: For the last five, six months, we've been talking about the business of football -- and not what goes on, on the field, and building the teams in each market," said Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots. "But the end result is we've been able to have an agreement that I think is going to allow this sport to flourish over the next decade."

Owners praised the new revenue split, giving them 53 percent of all revenue and the players 47 percent, as the last CBA was closer to 50-50. They also will praised a new system that will rein in spending on contracts for first-round draft picks.

Players, meanwhile, convinced owners to spend nearly all of their salary cap space in cash, and were also able to win concessions in offseason and in-season practices that will likely make the game safer, NFL.com reported.

Owners compromised with players on extending the season from 16 to 18 games. While owners favored the change, players had been opposed but both sides agreed to revisit the issue during the 2013 season.

"I know it has been a very long process since the day we stood here that night in March," Smith said in a brief appearance before being joined by Goodell, Kraft and two other owners. "But our guys stood together when nobody thought we would. And football is back because of it."

All 1,900 players will now take a vote on whether to accept the new CBA, which is expected. The next step will be for all players to re-certify the union.

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