NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said that he expects the new CBA "to be completed" as early as today. The players will then vote on the deal. If the "remaining issues, which include how HGH testing would be administered and how far Goodell's disciplinary authority can go, are resolved, players who signed or reworked contracts after the lockout ended last week can begin practicing" (NEWSDAY, 8/4). The NFLPA said that it "hoped that the vote would happen early enough for most newly signed free agents to join their teams for practice for the first time" this afternoon. The new league year begins at 4:00pm ET (N.Y. TIMES, 8/4).
The two sides yesterday continued to "negotiate the last remaining provisions" of the CBA, and as of late yesterday afternoon, the union "had not given its formal approval to a drug-testing program." League officials "have remained adamant that blood-testing for HGH must be included in this agreement and believe the union recognizes that it must agree or face future scrutiny on Capitol Hill" (WASHINGTON POST, 8/4).
