THE LOCKOUT IS OVER.

[FlyHighFalcons]

The NFL Players Association and the league's owners have reached agreement on the remaining points needed in their 10-year labor deal, sources from both sides said.

Despite the fact the new agreement will require a majority vote from the players, that part of the deal between the two sides is considered a formality, according to sources.

The NFLPA is making plans for a major press conference Monday. But first the player reps' executive committee is scheduled to fly to Washington, D.C., on Sunday so they can vote Monday.

Just as the NFL would not have called a vote Thursday in Atlanta without knowing it would pass in the way it did -- 31-0 with one abstention -- the NFLPA would also not be going forward without that assurance.

Sources say the NFL Players Association's executive committee plans to vote on a collective bargaining agreement Monday, followed by votes from player representatives and eventually players league-wide.

NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith knows his executive committee, his players reps and the rest of his constituents well enough to know how they will vote.

Plus, no collective bargaining agreement has ever been turned down by the players when approved by leadership.

The executive committee members and the individual team player reps are perhaps the most informed and involved group that any team sport has seen in recent years.

Many of these players were a part of the CBA process in 2006, providing them the knowledge and experience they used in these talks.

Once the players ratify the deal, training camps and free agency are likely to begin the same day, in what would be the equivalent of merging Thanksgiving and Christmas into one holiday.

By rule, training camps can't start until the new league year does.

Major breakthroughs in Saturday discussions set up the timetable for the resolution to the 130-day lockout.

Owners tentatively agreed to a players-recommended plan for the NFLPA to bring players into team facilities starting as early as Wednesday to physically vote on whether to recertify the current trade association as a union, a source told ESPN.com's John Clayton.

The players' executive committee will meet in Washington on Monday, a move that, according to a high-ranking NFLPA official, was not communicated to the NFLPA executive committee until Saturday morning via phone.

Following that, a recommendation has to be made by the 32 player representatives, likely via conference call. As of late Saturday night, no time had been set for that vote, but it is expected to occur Monday after the executive committee votes to recommend approval, according to the high-ranking official.

The executive committee is also expected to vote to recommend recertifying itself as a union, according to the source. A recommendation also has to be made by the 32 player representatives on that count.

When the executive committee accepts the new CBA, players from certain teams will be granted permission to report to training camps Wednesday and players from other teams will be asked to report to training camps Friday, a source said. The hope from both sides is there are enough votes to recertify the union by as early as Friday.

For that to happen, a 50-percent-plus-one-vote majority of the players have to accept the NFLPA as its union and accept the terms of a CBA.

Much of the confidence in Monday's vote is due in part to the continued working relationship between Smith and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, a source said. The pair have been working with each other directly as the sides near an agreement and continued to do so through the weekend to ensure the remaining issues were resolved, according to a source.

Smith, a source said, has pledged to Goodell that he will also expedite the remaining issues before the first preseason game is played, creating optimism that those games will not be canceled. In that vein, Smith has personally taken on much of the work on the actual CBA-related documents, with his legal team, including NFLPA lawyer Jeffrey Kessler, assisting.

According to the source, Smith took on this responsibility as a show of good faith, because the NFL's management council executive committee had been skeptical due to its prior experience with Kessler as legal counsel.

The NFL announced Thursday it would open its doors to players under contract two days after the NFLPA executive committee accepts the CBA and settlement terms from existing lawsuits. The league also said that free agency would start the day after the union is recertified.

Therefore, under this tentative schedule for recertification, the pre-league year buffer period could start Wednesday.

Under that scenario, teams could potentially open contract talks with their own unrestricted free agents, restricted free agents and draft choices Wednesday. However, no contracts could be signed until Saturday at the earliest. In that scenario, teams would also be able to renegotiate contracts with players from their own team starting as early as Wednesday.

Upon recertification of the union, free agency could start Saturday at 2 p.m. ET and rosters would be allowed to expand to 90 players.

It is still uncertain when teams would be able to sign undrafted free agents.

It was vital for the NFLPA to have enough time for recertification and have a period of time for the renewed union to work out final details of its benefit plans.

Only a union can negotiate benefits for its members and the NFLPA feared a Tuesday deadline to recertify would not leave enough time to properly negotiate changes in the benefits packages. Under terms of the owners' agreement from Thursday, players would have reverted back to the 2010 benefits plan if they didn't make adjustments within a certain time period.

As talks progressed Saturday, the sides removed one roadblock while moving the dial on another.

A league source said San Diego Chargers receiver Vincent Jackson, one of the 10 named plaintiffs in the players' antitrust lawsuit against the NFL, is now willing to release his claim without compensation, meaning no money or lifting of the franchise tag. Jackson was the last of the 10 named plaintiffs unwilling to drop his claim.

The sides also got closer to settling the $4 billion network television insurance case, according to a source. That case, which is in the court of U.S. District Judge David Doty in Minneapolis, involved damages suffered by the players after Doty ruled against the owners.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/6797238/2011-nfl-lockout-owners-players-come-deal-all-points-sources-say

[FlyHighFalcons]

Vote will happen Monday but is considered a "formality."

[FlyHighFalcons]

The timeline, according to an ESPN.com source:

• Monday: NFLPA's executive committee votes whether to recommend approval of the CBA approved by owners on Thursday. Then, a player rep from each of the 32 teams votes whether to recommend approval of the CBA.

• Wednesday: Players from some teams report to facilities and vote whether to recertify the NFLPA as a union and accept the proposed CBA.

If the NFLPA has gotten the necessary votes, teams can also start contract talks with their own players, including free agents and draft choices.

• Friday: The remaining players report and vote whether to approve recertification and the CBA. If the NFLPA then receives the necessary 50-percent-plus-one-vote majority in approval, then it recertifies as a union.

• Saturday: Free agency starts and teams can officially sign players.

[Tribal Chief]

I haven't heard the fat lady yet

[Lowndesfalc]

ya_boi_j

I haven't heard the fat lady yet

I tend to believe this though, it should pretty much be a formality at this point.

[ltstorm2]

It'll be over when everything is signed. " Its just a formality " has been said everyday for the last 2 weeks.

Just like all of the timelines when everything is supposed to be done, changes every day.

Edited July 24, 2011 by ltstorm2

[FlyHighFalcons]

It'll be over when everything is signed. " Its just a formality " has been said everyday for the last 2 weeks.

Just like all of the timelines when everything is supposed to be done, changes every day.

I understand the pessimisn but there has never been reports of a deal being done or anything being "just a formality." This report is as close as it has ever gotten. Let's hope somebody verifies.

[HouseofEuphoria]

The timeline, according to an ESPN.com source:

• Monday: NFLPA's executive committee votes whether to recommend approval of the CBA approved by owners on Thursday. Then, a player rep from each of the 32 teams votes whether to recommend approval of the CBA.

• Wednesday: Players from some teams report to facilities and vote whether to recertify the NFLPA as a union and accept the proposed CBA.

If the NFLPA has gotten the necessary votes, teams can also start contract talks with their own players, including free agents and draft choices.

• Friday: The remaining players report and vote whether to approve recertification and the CBA. If the NFLPA then receives the necessary 50-percent-plus-one-vote majority in approval, then it recertifies as a union.

• Saturday: Free agency starts and teams can officially sign players.

So...it's going to take the players a whole week to sign this crap?

Are we gonna have to wait another whole week after that for the players and all thier representatives to discuss, then vote on recertifying as a union too?

Sigh.

Hey, take your time fellas....there's no hurry at all to get to camp....we all know how hot it is outside.

Btw, i know you wanted to be first and all, but the lockout aint over.

[FalconState]

It's not over until everything is signed and the Players and Owners come out and say it's over

[ltstorm2]

I understand the pessimisn but there has never been reports of a deal being done or anything being "just a formality." This report is as close as it has ever gotten. Let's hope somebody verifies.

I'm not being pessimistic or optimistic. I'm stating that every time that a deal is "as close as it has ever gotten" something holds it up. Every day all of the legal*experts ESPN and NFL network trots out on camera has to change their dates when everything is going to start.

Of course I hope everything gets done, but would I be suprised if something held up a signing on monday? Not one bit.

[FlyHighFalcons]

So...it's going to take the players a whole week to sign this crap?

Are we gonna have to wait another whole week after that for the players and all thier representatives to discuss, then vote on recertifying as a union too?

Sigh.

Hey, take your time fellas....there's no hurry at all to get to camp....we all know how hot it is outside.

Btw, i know you wanted to be first and all, but the lockout aint over.

You should probably read posts before responding to them. It clearly states that some players will report Wednesday and vote on recertification as they come in, and that the rest will report on Friday and vote on recertification as they come in.

Edited July 24, 2011 by FlyHighFalcons

[chifalc]

Of course, players keep finding ways to slow things down. . .

[HouseofEuphoria]

You should probably read posts before responding to them. It clearly states that some players will report Wednesday and vote on recertification as they come in, and that the rest will report on Friday and vote on recertification as they come in.

Well, they cant vote on recertification on wed. if they dont vote on the CBA monday. Or will they put that off till tuesday, wednesday. Let's push everything back a few more days, Brees has a golfing date with his plastic surgeon on tuesday.

Let's take it one vote at a time, shall we?

As much as i want football, i think you were waaaay premature with this thread, sparky.

[FlyHighFalcons]

Well, they cant vote on recertification on wed. if they dont vote on the CBA monday. Or will they put that off till tuesday, wednesday. Let's push everything back a few more days, Brees has a golfing date with his plastic surgeon on tuesday.

Let's take it one vote at a time, shall we?

As much as i want football, i think you were waaaay premature with this thread, sparky.

Well next time I'll wait until next Friday to post this article. And clearly you still haven't read, because the outline says to vote on the CBA Monday and recertification Wednesday and Friday.

[Return of the Gaucho]

Well, it seems that the players threw a hissy fit over next to nothing. If the owners do not have to re-vote on a deal, that means there were no substantive changes made to the deal the owners agreed to on Thursday. So the players cried about the method of their re-certification? They went twitter crazy about the owners "pulling a fast one" because of the difference between email vs. physical union card re-certification processes? Christ... Not that the owners are blameless, but the players seem to have lost a lot of good will with their recent actions.

[B_ELLIS24]

no disrespect whatsoever, but I'll celebrate when I see players in Training Camp.

[The Falcon Jedi Knight]

I think this will be over by Tuesday

[birdz4i]

it will be over when they report to camp. until then, i have heard enough optimistic bs to gag an elephant.