There is some optimism that "labor peace might be extended" before the NFL CBA ends after the '20 season, perhaps even "without all of the doom and gloom that generally comes along" with negotiations, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSPORTS. One source said that his impression is that a "deal could be reached" prior to the start of the '20 season, and "sensed that both sides were motivated to work hard towards a resolution well before this deal runs out." The source added that there was "significant common ground" between the NFL and the NFLPA and that "early, informal exchanges of ideas have been overwhelmingly positive." Sources said that the union "believed their side would be willing to sit down at the bargaining table sooner rather than later, and both the NFL and NFLPA have been quietly preparing for that scenario as well." La Canfora wrote he does not "get the sense that either side would be stuck on a radical departure from the current economic model, and there appears to be more cohesion among the owners now than there was eight years ago" (CBSSPORTS.com, 3/4).
GREEN, GREEN GRASS: In Boston, Tom Curran notes the NFL salary cap "has risen so quickly" in recent years that the fact players are averaging $15M per year "hasn't yet been normalized." The players "aren't killing it," rather the "league as a whole is killing it." Since '12, the salary cap "has risen from $120.6M to $188.2M this year." In '12, three players had "base salaries of more than $14M," but next season there are 24 players "on the books for $14M or more." Players are "getting paid more because their owners are making more." The salary cap is "spiraling upward because total revenue is spiraling upward" (NBCSPORTSBOSTON.com, 3/3).
