It might not be the biggest week in NFL history, but it’s certainly one of the more important ones recently. Still, it’s too early to say whether there’s any real cause for optimism when it comes to the NFL avoiding a lockout.
Maybe by week’s end a lockout will be averted.
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But at the start of the week, the NFL and the NFLPA are, by all accounts, approximately $775 million apart.
And there’s one nagging point:
“We still have no formal proposal,” Redskins union rep Vonnie Holliday said.
That’s not to say a deal can’t or won’t get done, but it shows how much needs to be discussed, debated and finalized this week. The players want to see the owners’ books; the owners don’t want to show them. The owners want 18 games; the players say no way. That can’t be minimized, but can either side budge on these issues? Eventually they’ll have to, but are they ready to do so now?
The optimism stems from the fact that the sides are still talking. But have they made any real progress? Enough to prevent a black eye for the sport?
“We’re still talking, and we’re not locked out, so that’s what you can be optimistic about,” Holliday said. “But we’ve still got a long way to go to get a deal done. … We’re still far apart. But the mediator has done a great job keeping us talking, and we still want to get a deal done.”
The sides are back at it Monday. They’re still talking, which is good. But let’s not kid ourselves: A lot of hard, tough work remains. There’s no guarantee this week will end well.
