NFL Players Vote to Approve New CBA Featuring 17-Game Season and Expanded Playoffs
By Michael Luciano
The NFL's CBA negotiations have been taking an increasingly hostile tone as free agency comes closer and closer, and agreeing on the changes in this new deal would change the structure of the entire sport.
By a vote of 1,019-959, the newest version of the CBA passed, which provides 10 years of labor peace between the league and the NFLPA.
Sources to ESPN: NFL players voted to approve the proposed CBA, giving the NFL 10 more years of labor peace, players an increased share of revenue, former players added benefits, and the league 17-game regular seasons along with an expanded playoff field.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 15, 2020
One of the two biggest changes the new CBA will implement is the addition of a 17th regular season game. The league will eliminate a preseason week, but it is unclear if the NFL will add a second bye week in the middle of the season.
The other major change is addition of an extra playoff team in each conference, which is set to be implemented this upcoming season. In this new format, only the top seed in each conference will get a bye.
In addition to those changes, players will receive a higher percentage of the revenue generated by the league than they did in the previous deal. Teams will also be unable to use both the transition and franchise tag in the same year.
Reminders:
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 15, 2020
* The NFL will soon have 17-game regular seasons, 3-game preseasons
* The playoffs will include 7 teams per conference, with just one bye apiece
* Teams CANNOT use both the franchise and transition tag this year (i.e. Cowboys or Titans)
10 more years of labor peace.
The CBA is by no means perfect, as this new playoff format is nothing short of rancid, but at least a deal was done and a lockout was avoided. Bring on free agency.