The NFL’s new collective bargain agreement is a win for the fans
Mar 16, 2020, 6:56 AM
On Sunday, it was announced that the NFL players had approved a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the union and the league. By a close vote of 1,019 to 959, the deal was ratified, ensuring labor peace through the 2030 season.
Given the narrow margin, there are plenty of people who think the new CBA is a bad deal for the players. The fact that the owners seemed to rush the deal through at the 11th hour also raises suspicions.
But for the most part, the players seemed to be divided on economic lines. For those who are earning at or near the league minimums, the new deal is a good one; it gets them another game check (for a 17th game) and adds additional jobs (with the expanded practice squad). For the star players, the new agreement isn’t as great, mainly because their earnings are capped for the extra game.
In the end, however, none of that really matters. The players are all going to make a lot of money and the owners are going to break the bank on a new TV deal. The parties involved will all be fine.
Ultimately, the most important part of the new CBA is that it is great news for the fans – on multiple fronts.
First and foremost, guaranteed labor peace through 2030 is huge. That means there will be NFL games to watch and enjoy for at least the next decade, with no threat of a lockout, strike or other form of work stoppage.
The expansion of the playoffs is also a good thing. Under the new CBA, only the top seed in each conference will get a bye during the first round. That’s because the No. 2 seed will now play against the newly added seventh seed.
Last season, that would’ve provided match-ups of the Chiefs-Steelers in the AFC and Packers-Rams in the NFC, during a Wild Card Weekend that will now feature six games instead of four. That’s a football bonanza!
And ultimately, the 17th game will be a positive. Yes, it screws up the record book, changes the way fantasy leagues have to be structured and creates a weird situation where every team doesn’t play the same number of home and road games. But it’s also an extra week of football. And it means a reduction of the preseason from four games to three.
There are a lot of other pieces to the new CBA, including changes to the fifth-year option, drug testing policies, the number of padded practices and other issues. But when it comes to the big things, the issues that really matter to the average person, it’s filled with nothing but positives.
There will be football. And there will be more of it. Ultimately, that’s a good thing.
