NFL, NFLPA to begin CBA talk

Despite talk of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) being quite a prominent topic with most NFL TV & Radio Analysts; the topic has been somewhat of an afterthought by both the NFL & NFLPA until just recently. Considering how important agreeing to a new CBA is, most would have figured the two parties would put this issue at the top of the agenda. It wasn't until Mid-May when Yahoo! Sports reported that the two sides had announced that they'd get things underway within a month (that was on May 17th). Well, keeping true to their word, both sides have agreed to meet this Wednesday (June 3) to begin labor talks. While this initial session is expect to focus solely on procedural question and not negotiations, this, nonetheless, is progress. Should a new CBA not be struck prior to the opening of the 2010 free agent market, 2010 will be an uncapped season. Should an agreement not be met before the start of the 2011 season there could a labor-related work stoppage a.k.a. an NFL-lockout. As mentioned last month, considering the national popularity, and revenue each game generates, most would assume that this process would be an easy process; for both sides. Unfortunately, assumptions are only made by unprepared people. The NFLPA has requested unrestricted access to "the books" from each franchise (they'd like to see exact numbers), a request that NFL franchise owners don't necessarily want to fulfill (despite the owners stating that exact numbers have already been disclosed to the Player Association). There are other topics that the two sides don't see "eye-to-eye" on as well, which may make this process take longer than expected. The Blue Blog will keep you posted as the two sides make progress, hopefully avoiding a possible work-stoppage.

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