NFL Owners Meeting Will Focus On Safety Equipment Technology

NFL owners will get a look at the latest technological developments in thigh and knee pads today at a brief half-day meeting in Irving, Texas. Last May, over NFLPA objections, the owners passed a rule that thigh and knee pads would become mandatory equipment in '13. Owners will get an update on that process and see examples of some of the latest technological developments in thigh and kneepads. The development comes a day after former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue overturned suspensions of the four players involved in the alleged Saints bounty scheme. The suspensions had been a central part of Commissioner Roger Goodell’s healthy and safety push, which produced the knee and thigh pad initiative.

Owners also should get a look at the '13 salary cap, though the league has been able to manage the cap since the new '11 CBA, so the figure has long been expected not to be much more than the current $120.6M. That does not include benefits. With benefits, the full amount would likely push past $145M. Owners are also expected to approve the sale of Jimmy Haslam III's stake in the Steelers. Haslam bought the Browns in October.