The NFL lockout is not officially over just yet, but it's very close. On Thursday in Atlanta, NFL owners voted 31-0 to ratify the proposed collective bargaining agreement. (The Raiders abstained from voting.) This means all that's left to end the lockout and bring back football is the ratification of the new CBA by players.
While there are reports that the players may have some issues with the agreement the owners ratified, the hope is that all of the talk about the lockout will soon be behind us. Players and fans alike are ready to get free agency and training camp started, and under the owner-ratified agreement, those things would begin in the next week.
Here are some other details (via NFL Network) about the agreement the owners ratified:
- It is for 10 years long and includes no opt-outs by players or owners
- Salary cap in 2011 is $120.4 million
- The salary floor is 99 percent of the cap from 2011-12 and 95 percent of the cap from 2013-20
- There will be at least four preseason games through at least 2013
- Retirees will receive an additional $900 million to $1 billion in benefits
Again, the lockout will not be over until the players approve this agreement. For now it certainly looks like this could all be over soon, but nothing is official unless the players sign off on it.