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New CBA a major win for NFL players. Here are 10 reasons why.
The players approved the new Collective Bargaining Agreement by a 1,019-959 vote. USA TODAY Sports: Kim Klement

New CBA a major win for NFL players. Here are 10 reasons why.

There will be continued labor peace in the NFL for the next decade. By a 1,019–959 vote, players approved the new collective bargaining agreement. It isn’t a perfect deal for the players; no deal ever could be. Some of the league’s biggest stars spoke loudly against the proposed deal, but despite that, this looks to me like a win for the players. Here’s why:

This deal might not have come around again

Owners put this offer on the table before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States and brought the sports world to a screeching halt. There is every reason to believe that, given the uncertainty of the next few months, and the economic hit that other sports leagues will take, owners would have come up with a much less player-friendly proposal had this one been rejected. Normally, the first deal to come across the bargaining table isn’t one that should be signed, but this is a rare exception to that rule.

The rank-and-file got a raise

Approximately 60 percent of NFL players have minimum-salary deals, and minimum salaries increase by about 20 percent right away. A player with less than one year of experience will now make $610,000, as opposed to $510,000 on the old deal. The average NFL career lasts about 3.3 years, which means the extra money will make a major difference for over half the league's players. Many of them lack job security and must find regular work after football.

Expanded rosters mean more jobs

In either 2021 or 2022, the schedule will expand to 17 games, and while that was a major point of contention among the players, rosters will grow as a result. Game-day active rosters will jump from 46 to 48, with a mandate that at least one of the extra two players be an offensive lineman. Overall roster sizes will increase from 53 to 55, as a result of two practice-squad players being able to elevate to the main roster every week. In short, more jobs for more players is a good thing.

Fewer practices

The eventual 17-game schedule does mean more wear and tear on players, but that will be offset at least to some degree by the removal of one preseason game, and by a drastic reduction in training camp workload. Padded practices will be capped at 16, down from 28, and teams will not be able to have more than three padded practices in a row. There are other changes to practice routines that lessen the burden on players, and while coaches might hate them, they should mitigate some of the physical strain a 17th game will cause.

Help for practice squads

Being an NFL player in any capacity is seen as a glamorous endeavor, but being on an NFL practice squad pays closer to a good “normal” job. Practice squads will undergo two expansions -– from 10 to 12 in 2020 and 2021, and then to 14 in 2022. Not only that, but salaries for practice squad players will jump from $8,000 per week to $11,500 per week by 2022. Practice squad players will also be eligible for 401(k) participation. That might seem blasé, but on a very base level, it means that more players will have access to more money. That’s always a good thing.

A bigger cut

This might be the bottom-line best part about the deal: The players' cut of revenues will rise from 47 to 48 percent starting in 2021. Depending on how television negotiations go, the share could rise to as high as 48.8 percent. It’s not a 50/50 split, which is what the players deserve, but it’s still tens of millions of dollars heading back to the players. The 17th game and expanded postseason aren’t ideal, and that 17th game was a major reason many players voted “no,” but more money in the pot for everyone is good.

Less power for Roger Goodell

No one –- not players, not fans, probably not even most owners – liked the amount of power Commissioner Goodell held over player and team discipline. That will change with the new CBA, with Goodell still serving as judge in appeals, but with a more neutral arbitration process for most discipline cases. Though most owners might not admit it, less Goodell in the headlines is a good thing for the league.

No more suspensions for marijuana

Eliminating suspensions for positive marijuana tests has been a hot-button issue for years, with many criticizing the league’s cynical approach to weed, particularly when players extolled its virtues at helping them with pain management. Abuse of Toradol and opioids have been an issue for the league for some time, and players feeling more comfortable about using marijuana, and not fearing the repercussions for a positive test, is a very positive step.

It’s an olive branch to the past

Retired players with three credentialed seasons will now be eligible to receive pension benefits, despite the cutoff having been four years prior to this CBA. There is something inherently cruel about the average player not lasting long enough to become pension-eligible, and one wonders how many players tried to extend their careers for one extra year, doing major physical damage in the process, just to get a pension. This change helps alleviate some of the hardship, physically and financially, that former players went through.

There won’t be a work stoppage

Seems like a pretty ridiculous thing to point out, right? It isn’t fair, but in the court of public opinion, the players always bear the brunt of the blame whenever there is a work stoppage, even if the owners instigate it. Taking slings and arrows from fans because of perceived greediness must be infuriating for many, so avoiding that reality is a major plus.

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