According to the NFL Network’s Albert Breer, the NFL owners approved a deal last night that could potentially end the NFL lockout. Rejoice, football fans — the season could be saved!
….or not. Unfortunately, this vote is only one step of the process. The NFL players still need to approve the deal as well, and there have been grumblings that the players won’t find the deal to their liking. Here’s Pro Football Talk’s take on things:
Folks, there’s no way the NFLPA* will be approving the deal tonight or passing it along to the players for a vote. And once the league has to start canceling preseason weeks and not just one preseason game, real money is going to disappear — and the chances of getting a deal done will diminish.
While there has been more optimism this morning that the players may approve the plan, it’s still no sure thing — it’s possible the owners are trying to pressure the players into making a deal. And if the players reject this deal, then who knows when an agreement could be reached.
If the talks go on too much longer, then the NFL won’t be able to make arrangements for certain preseason games and teams are going to begin losing revenue. The pressure is on to close a deal, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything will happen. We just have to wait and see.