Will know one week from today if the NFL and NFLPA will have a new CBA agreement in place.
Thursday morning it was announced that players have been sent the current CBA proposal to vote on prior to next Thursday, March 12 at 11:59 a.m. EST. The proposal will need a majority vote to become ratified.
A full copy of the latest CBA proposal has now surfaced as well and can be found here. Several players have also already highlighted some key elements in the proposed CBA for others to take notice of.
So, what happens with a few of these league deadlines and start dates if the new CBA proposal winds up being passed by the players?
According to at least one Thursday morning report, there are currently no plans to change the tag deadline or the start of free agency based on the timing of players’ vote to ratify the new CBA. In fact, Page 68 of the proposed CBA says: “The 2020 League Year shall begin on March 18, 2020 at 4:00 p.m. New York time.”
With the deadline to vote being four hours before the annual tag deadline, it will be interesting to see if maybe that ultimately gets pushed back. If it doesn’t, team’s would then need to act quickly to decide which player will receive a franchise or transition tag. In the case of the Pittsburgh Steelers, they might decide to wait another full week before announcing their franchise tag decision on outside linebacker Bud Dupree.
Could we see the start of the 2020 NFL league year pushed back regardless of the outcome of the player’s vote?
While it doesnt look like that will be the case, I suppose that’s possible and especially if the players vote against ratifying the current CBA proposal. Even if ratified, there’s probably a slight chance that the start of the new league year gets pushed back at least one week to allow teams to get some last-minute work done such as contract restructures or extensions. We’ll just have to stay tuned.
Might the Steelers not make any moves until they know the outcome of the player’s vote?
I suppose that’s very possible as well. The Steelers haven’t done anything roster related since signing safety John Battle to a Reserve/Future contract on January 9. In short, we might have to wait at least one more full week for a few of the expected cuts to take place.
