The NFLPA wants to radically reform the NFL offseason, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. He writes that sources confirm the Players Association “is exploring the possibility of attempting a full overhaul of the offseason program”.
Specifically, the players want to do away with the current voluntary Organized Team Activities, or OTAs. They went to reset the timeline, condense it, and make it shorter—and I can see their point. Players go through four weeks of running in shorts and then get six weeks off.
Reportedly, they are exploring the idea of removing OTAs and minicamp and replacing them with a four-week ramp-up period just before training camp begins. Presumably, they also want or may want to remove or alter the earlier phases of workouts as well.
“It’s not something the union is planning to attempt to negotiate with the league in the short term”. Florio writes. “Again, it’s exploratory for now. The challenge will be to get the league to agree to something like this. It possibly could be secured at the bargaining table in exchange for something the NFL really wants (like an 18th regular-season game). Alternatively, it’s the kind of thing that could be obtained only through a strike”.
In other words, this doesn’t exactly sound like anything that’s going to happen any time soon. We may never see this in the NFL, or at least not for a while. But how much value do the teams get from OTAs?
Could we reach a future in which players report for duty in, say, June, and then have the rest of the time off after the season ends? They could basically have nearly half a year off from January to June if so. The question is how much value exists in between.
OTAs are primarily for installation, and every team makes tweaks every year. The Pittsburgh Steelers are installing a new offense in 2024, so they are going to want their players around. Be that as it may, I’m not sure these changes are radical.
Players are largely free to roam about the facility at their leisure as it is. The only thing that is mandatory during the NFL offseason before training camp is a three-day minicamp. Yes, most players show up to OTAs, but players can still show up even without OTAs.
This is all purely hypothetical at this point, so what that looks like is not yet known. The complication is that the league only allows limited contact between players and coaches during certain offseason stages.
As Florio points out, the NFL isn’t going to give this up for free. The NFLPA will have to sacrifice something else to get it, and history shows the NFL gets the better deal.
And as is frequently the case, this suggested change benefits established veterans more than the rank and file. Younger, less experienced, less established players know they need to be around to keep their jobs. They have all the vacation time in the world if they don’t have a camp to report to.
