NFL, players closer to agreement

The NFL and player representatives continued inching ever closer Monday on a new collective-bargaining agreement and on resolving all remaining legal entanglements between the two sides. Barring an unexpected snag in negotiations, a new deal could be approved Thursday, when owners meet in Atlanta.

"It looks good," a person with knowledge of the talks said late Monday afternoon. "Hopefully, in a couple days, we'll have all this behind us."

U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan, the federally appointed mediator in the longstanding dispute, returned Monday from a trip to Ireland. He found that the sides had made remarkable progress in his absence by agreeing to all the major financial issues, as well as a rookie salary structure that had proved to be the last major stumbling block.

The legal issues Monday took center stage, as lawyers for the NFL and the players had settlement discussions on several fronts. Attorneys are seeking to settle an antitrust suit filed against the NFL by 10 players, including quarterbacks Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Peyton Manning. The Brady lawsuit was joined by several retired players, including former Vikings defensive end Carl Eller, so any settlement talks would include that segment of the lawsuit.

The sides also are trying to settle a case in which the NFL was found to be in violation of the CBA by negotiating network television contracts. Damages from that case, which was decided in March by District Court Judge David S. Doty, could exceed $1 billion, but resolving the matter would eliminate any sanctions.

Meetings will continue Wednesday in New York and also in Washington, where members of the NFL Players Association's executive committee will meet. Player representatives from the 32 teams will join the meetings Wednesday, and players could vote on the proposed pact later that day. A simple majority is needed for approval. Prior to voting, players would have to decide to recertify as a union; the NFLPA decertified March 11, the day the Brady lawsuit was filed.

Owners are set to meet in Atlanta, where they also would vote on the new agreement. A minimum 24 owners are needed to ratify a new CBA. Teams are sending key front-office personnel to Atlanta to be briefed on the rules governing the deal, and the league year is expected to begin Monday.

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Teams would have three days to sign their own free agents, draft picks and undrafted free agents. On July 28, a five-day signing period would begin for all unrestricted free agents. Training camps also could open around that time. It is uncertain when the Jets and Giants will open theirs. Both teams have decided to train at their facilities in New Jersey, not in upstate New York.

According to people involved in the talks, as well as others who have been briefed on the negotiations, there is general agreement that things are far enough along for there to be genuine optimism about a deal being done.

Some of the key provisions of the 10-year deal:

Players will receive 46-48 percent of gross revenue, without being charged for the $1 billion credit the NFL originally requested.

The salary cap will be reinstituted; it's set at approximately $120 million for the 2011 season.

Players will become free agents after a minimum of four years of service, once their contracts expire. Last year, without the salary cap, players needed at least six years to be eligible for free agency.

A reconfigured rookie salary structure will lower salaries dramatically in the top half of the draft, and no rookie contract will exceed five years. The fifth would be an option year at the club's discretion, but would offer a salary commensurate with the league's best-paid players at the respective positions.

Teams still are permitted to use the franchise tag for one player. Linebacker David Harris is the Jets' franchise player. The Giants did not designate one.

Retired players will see nearly $1 billion in additional pension and benefits.