NFL Lockout: Player Representatives Approve CBA; Free Agency and Training Camp Timeline (Updated)

Today the player representatives teleconferenced, and were given a summary of the deal as the owners voted on it and as it was negotiated during the weekend, with the handful of minor issues remaining pulled out and explained. Adam Schefter reports they have now voted to approve the CBA unanimously. Recertification and the general player vote still have to happen, but both should be procedural in nature. It was decided not to have an opt-out, which is good for the league for TV deals and good for us because it'll be 10 years before we have to deal with this again.

As per the official timeline, rookies (drafted and undrafted) can be signed tomorrow, free agents can be negotiated and signed on Friday. The Seahawks will report to training camp to vote on recertification and the CBA on Wednesday.

We're not completely done with the negotiations. After the players recertify over the week, they'll have to negotiate with the NFL over things like benefits plans, healthcare, substance-abuse policy, player discipline, and other issues that couldn't be negotiated with a decertified NFLPA.

Details on the CBA and timeline after the break.

The CBA summary is available here. It's as expected/described earlier. $120.375 million to the cap, with a 99% spending obligation for two years. The guaranteed spending in 2011 will be $119.2 million. The player share band is 47-48.5%, with the minimum cash spending that's a huge win for them. The rookie wages are pushed down by a rookie wage scale ($874 overall limit, to grow with the cap), but minimum wages are all increased by $55K a year, another huge win as half the players in the league are paid minimum wages. Guaranteed money paid out when a player suffers a career-ending injury has been increased. There are a ton of limits on practices, decreasing their frequency, time spent on the field and fully padded practices.

A detailed timeline is available here. The timeline:

July 26: club facilities open for voluntary training, trading begins, signing of drafted/undrafted rookies, negotiate with but not sign free agents (unrestricted or otherwise)

July 28: cut/waive players

July 29: renegotiate existing contracts, sign free agents

August 4: deadline for kicking off the league year

August 25/September 5: deadlines for offering a tender for a RFA and him signing it (Tyler Polumbus for us)

August 30: roster reduction from 90 to 75

September 3: roster reduction from 75 to 53