Players Vote ‘Yes’ to New CBA
The wait is over. The NFL’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement will be going into action this season. Out of 1,978 players, 1,019 (51.5%) voted yes in an extremely close decision. It came as a bit of a surprise after Aaron Rodgers, Richard Sherman, Maurkice Pouncey, and several notable players spoke out against it. With this CBA going through, there will be no repeat of 2011, when a lockout lingered all the way into late July.
Here are the biggest things that fans should know about the new agreement:
1. Six Playoff Teams? Not Anymore
That’s right, both conferences will now add an extra playoff team, bringing the total number of spots to seven. We’ve been used to the six-team format where the top two seeds receive bye weeks, but that privilege will now only go to the team with the best record in the conference. Two extra wildcard games will be played, with the 2 v. 7 joining the 3 v. 6 and the 4 v. 5. Although they will likely draw a far easier matchup than the other playoff participants, losing a bye lowers the incentive for the second seed to continue fighting for that spot late into the season. The Los Angeles Rams (who would’ve played the Packers) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (who would’ve played the Chiefs) would’ve been the final playoff teams if this format was in place last season.
2. 17 Game Regular Season on the Horizon
Let this be clear to all, the 2020 regular season will still feature the 16-game slate that many of us have known for all of our lifetimes. In this CBA, the NFL has an option to switch to a 17-game regular-season schedule sometime between 2021 and 2023. When this move takes place, the preseason will shrink to three games, and then players will be given a bye week before the beginning of the regular season. To alleviate the stress and grueling nature of an elongated season, padded practices will be limited in length and amount. The NFL’s current scheduling formula will have to be adjusted for a potential 17-game schedule. Home/Away game amounts would be uneven with some teams having a 9/8 split and others having an 8/9. The league will also have to decide just exactly how they will determine who everyone is playing in the extra week. For now, we’re still at 16.
3. Revenue Split
The proposed revenue split is likely something that bothered some of those aforementioned players. In the first year of the CBA, owners will take 53% of league revenue with the players taking the other 47. After that, the owners share will drop to 52% while the players will go up to 48. The players will also receive another jump if the league makes the switch to 17 games.
4. No Suspensions for Marijuana??
If you’ve seen Josh Gordon trending on Twitter lately, this is why. From now on, players will not be suspended for testing positive for marijuana IF they receive clinical care instead. The NFL also shrunk their testing window to just two weeks. In addition, the amount of THC needed to trigger disciplinary action has been more than quadrupled. Basically, we shouldn’t be hearing about marijuana-related suspensions anymore.
5. Extra Details
We’ve covered the major points, so here are some of the other terms of the new CBA.
- Every team can return one more player from IR.
- Teams can now activate 48 players on gameday.
- Minimum salaries will be increased.
- Players with 4+ years of experience will receive some excused absences from workouts.
Writer/Interviewer