FanPost

The NFL CBA, why is nobody talking about it....

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

I know the CBA isnt exaclty the most exciting topic to talk about but its really important part of the game we love. Its all about the rules that bind the NFL as a whole. Most of the time I side with the players on the CBA, its their bodies on the lines and they should be making a majority of the money.

Current deal runs out next year and it looks like there is significant strides in the talks this past few weeks. So I wanted to highlight a few changes.

-Expanding playoffs to 14 teams (up from 12). There would be three wild card games in each conference (each winner of a division getting to host one) and then one first round bye to the team in the conference with the best record. Now I like this as long as it doesnt get to the point like the NHL that over half the teams get into the playoffs making the regular season worthless. And that all important first round bye means the top teams have to play in the final regualr season games

-Expanding each teams regualr season games to 17 games. This is something the owners want, more games means more ad revnue which means more money for everyone. There are some questions I dont know the answer to like if we do 17 weeks do they get rid of Thursday night football that is tough on a players bodies, do they do a 19 week schedule and give each team two bye's. More football for consumers is always better, but I worry about the players bodies.

-Revinue sharing goes up 1 to 1.5% towards the players. I still think it should be above the 48% or whatever it is now, maybe an even 50-50 split but the owners should provide lifetime health coverage from their share for people in the NFL over 3 years. Just my opinion.

-The NFL minimum salary goes up over the lifetime of the new CBA. currently the minimum salary is $510,000 which seems like a good deal to us all but that is devided up into 16 paychecks and the players only get paid for the games they dress for. So a player who makes the mimimum $31,875 per game puts his body on the line and could end up in a wheelchair the rest of his life after one game. This CBA would push it over a million dollars over the 10 years which is something all players will enjoy.

These are just my highlights, and its still going to a vote for the NFLPA that has to get 60% approval from all the players before it will be ratified. I have concerns about it but there are some more restrictions for the amount of days in pads in training camp, and more of a break for players in the off season etc that look out for player grind on their bodies. I think nobody wants a lockout or strike so to me it feels very close to being a done deal.

Anyways what do you think?

<em>This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Revenge of the Birds' (ROTB) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of ROTB's editors.</em>