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NFL players union's eight-hour meeting ends without labor agreement vote

NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said Jan. 30 that the players union's labor agreement discussions are "family business." File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said Jan. 30 that the players union's labor agreement discussions are "family business." File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Feb. 7 (UPI) -- The NFL Players Association and members of its executive committee met for eight hours to discuss a new collective bargaining agreement with the league, but the meeting did not result in a vote or approval of the agreement.

The meeting took place Thursday in Los Angeles. The current labor agreement expires in March 2021.

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"Our player leadership spent another eight hours together today engaged in thoughtful and intense discussions," NFLPA president Eric Winston tweeted. "We are committed to our process and will continue to grind until we are confident we are making the right decision for players past, present and future."

The new labor agreement proposal has been negotiated over the last 10 months between the league and its players union. The proposal includes franchise owners' desire to increase the NFL's regular-season schedule from 16 to 17 games, an idea met with opposition from many players. The league could open up to more regular-season games in exchange for fewer preseason games, reduced training camp time, changes to its drug and discipline policies, as well as an increase in league-revenue share for the players.

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Sources told ESPN that NFL owners have proposed a 10-year deal which raises the players' league revenue share from 47 percent to 48.5 percent. That revenue share could increase if the regular-season schedule expands.

Players union rules stipulate a two-thirds vote from its representatives to approve labor deals before they are submitted to the entire players union for a decision.

"The job of this [executive committee] and the job of the board is to represent the interest of the players," NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said at a Jan. 30 news conference in Miami. "And anytime that we get together and talk about our family business, we treat it as family business.

"Our job is to make sure that we represent the interest from our players and to make sure that we hear from our leadership. One of the great things about being able to bring player leaders in is hearing from them."

Winston will leave his role as NFLPA president in March, because he is no longer an active NFL player. Players will then vote on a new NFLPA president for representation. The 2020 NFL league year begins March 18.

"We've been having incredibly productive dialogue," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said during his Jan. 29 state of the league address in Miami. "I think we've made a lot of progress at now seven or eight months since we began those discussions more formally."

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Goodell also called the discussions "open" and "thoughtful."

"I think we've addressed difficult issues that face our league going forward and looking forward. I think both the players and management and everyone at the negotiation have worked to try to find creative solutions to make the NFL better and that's what you want.

"The process will close when the process closes when all of us feel comfortable that we've reached an agreement, that we want to go forward with it. I don't know when that will be but I think it's more important to get it right."

Four years ago, Smith notified NFL players to save money in the event of a work stoppage due to no labor agreement being made. The NFL hasn't had a player strike since 1987. That work stoppage lasted nearly a month and shortened the 1987 season to 15 games.

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