The CBA Passes!

The NFL has a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. The voting of the players ended at midnight and the votes are now known.

1,019 (51.5 %) of the players voted in favor of the new CBA.
959 (48.5%) were opposed.
A 60-vote margin. A single vote margin was all that was needed.

There are roughly 2500 dues-paying members in the NFLPA. 1978 (~79%) of those players voted. NFL Network's Steve Wyche stated that was a strong turnout. I'm not so sure I see it that way. Over 20% of the players decided not to take part in the voting. One in five players. On average, one player on every team's starting offensive line decided not to vote. It was a 60-vote margin. Over 500 players didn't vote. Perhaps an ~80% player turnout is strong but a 60-vote margin is so slim.

The good news:
Continued labor peace. That's huge.

The bad news:
The NFL owners get their 17th game. It probably wouldn't be a stretch to say that this was the only thing that the owners wanted. They would've given the players all of the breezy practices they desired if the players would agree to a 17th game. It's all about the money. Roger Goodell can bellow til he can bellow no more that all that the league does is for the fans. It's all for more money. I'm a firm believer that great football games will continue to bring everyone involved fantastic sums of money. Adding games does not guarantee better games. Money and the physical well-being of the players were held in balance and money won. Again. When it comes to people with plenty of it, money will always win.

Some of the CBA's particulars:

The 17th game will have a window to pop on the NFL schedule of 2021-2023. As can be seen by it being an odd number this will cause scheduling questions/problems/difficulties. Basically, it's a stupid deal. Apparently, the most likely solution is that one year the NFC teams get the extra home game and the AFC gets it the next year. And so on, and so on. Until the owners force an 18th game on the players in about ten years.

In-season and offseason practices will get even easier for the players. The coaches are going to love this. It makes no sense that my high school football and college rugby practices were more grueling than anything that NFL players go through these days.

NFL rosters will increase in size. The active roster on game day will go from 46 to 48 players, and one of the extra players has to be an offensive lineman. Practice squads will increase to 12 players in 2020 and 2021 and to 14 players starting in 2022. Two practice-squad players each week can be elevated to the team's active roster, meaning that the roster during the week will effectively be 55. Apparently the league believes that this will help spread out the wear and tear players that a 17th game will inflict upon the players. At best, this will spare a player or two a snap or two. What the league considers a concession has never ceased to amaze me. More jobs for players is a very good thing.

So, it's done. The NFL and the NFLPA have a new CBA. We have labor peace in the NFL. That's a very good thing.

And, the 2020 salary cap has been set at $198.2 million.