Players’ Executive Committee to Vote Monday, Players on Wednesday

Perhaps the news last night was not as grim as we had originally thought. It has been reported today that both the NFL owners and players have agreed to a plan that would see the players’ executive committee voting on Monday to potentially approve the new collective bargaining agreement and recertifying as a union.

If the NFLPA ultimately accepts the new CBA on Monday, the 32 player representatives will then also vote to accept the agreement. After that, players from some teams will be invited to training camps on Wednesday to begin their own vote, while players from other teams will be invited to camp on Friday.

Naturally, everyone is most concerned about the start of free agency, and in this situation, if all goes according to plan, it could start as early as July 30 at 2 p.m. ET. However, that doesn’t include when undrafted free agents will be able to sign with teams.

Once the executive’s committee approves the new CBA, there will have to be a 50-percent-plus-one-vote majority of the players for everything to go into effect, allowing us to put this nightmare in the past.