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NFLPA declines Friday vote on owners' CBA proposal

The NFLPA decided not to vote Friday on a collective-bargaining agreement proposal presented by the team owners, sources told Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson.

The NFLPA later confirmed the postponement of the vote in a statement.

“Our player leadership looks forward to meeting with NFL management again next week before the board takes a vote shortly after,” the NFLPA statement reads.

Player representatives were expected to vote on Friday and potentially send the CBA proposal to a greater vote of all the league’s players. They will now attempt to set up a meeting with team owners to discuss the CBA at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis and could vote as early as Tuesday, according to Robinson’s sources.

In order to pass, a CBA will have to be ratified by a simple majority of the dues-paying members of the NFLPA.

Meeting with team owners not a sure thing

Team owners have not agreed to meet with players, and there’s no guarantee that a meeting will take place, according to Robinson’s sources.

Owners approved terms of a CBA proposal on Thursday and sent their proposal to the NFLPA for consideration. The process generally requires a two-thirds vote of the 32 NFLPA player representatives before it’s sent to the greater player pool. That is the vote that the NFLPA declined on Friday.

The player's union won't vote on Friday on a proposed CBA. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
The player's union won't vote on Friday on a proposed CBA. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

According to Robinson’s sources, the NFLPA could eventually send the proposal directly to players without a vote from player representatives.

Pushback on CBA proposal

The owners’ proposal was met with public pushback from some players on Thursday, most notably Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, who tweeted that he’s a “hard no on that proposed CBA.”

Watt didn’t explain what he disagreed with in the proposal.

One sticking point could be the proposed expansion to a 17-game regular season schedule that would take place during the 2022 season. The current proposal limits game checks of players with existing contracts to $250,000 for the 17th game, which would put players with bigger contracts in the position of playing for a discount during that extra week.

Other issues of concern could be a proposed revenue split that remains below 50 percent for players and little movement in terms of contract guarantees.

Sources told Robinson on Thursday that some players were upset with Watt’s immediate public rejection of the proposal before players had a chance to discuss it and ask questions.

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