No new CBA appears on the horizon for the NFL, with the current deal set to expire at the end of the day today. NFL owners cut short their gathering in Chantilly, Va., yesterday, meeting for about two-and-a-half hours before many of them left, including several key owners on the labor negotiating team like the Patriots’ Robert Kraft and the Cowboys’ Jerry Jones. Both men said they were leaving the DC area.
The meeting was originally called to stretch into today, but an NFL source said that was only the case if there was a deal to talk about and vote on. No votes were taken. Kraft and Jones were part of the 10-owner labor negotiating team that met with the union yesterday in federally mediated talks. Those talks were scheduled to begin again at 9:00am ET this morning, and were occurring last night as well with Giants President & CEO John Mara and Packers President & CEO Mark Murphy joining league execs.
There is still the chance the two sides agree to extend the deadline, though the gulf between the two groups has been wide. If the union decertifies as is expected, it would need to do so by 5:00pm today to be able to file an antitrust lawsuit against the league.
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