In order for the National Football League (NFL) season to begin the CBA agreement must be in place prior to the kickoff of any team activities. It is believed by many that football is just that, a fun and thrilling sport that families watch on Thursday night, Sunday all day, and Monday night. There is a lot, however, that goes into the process of conducting the league as a whole. The CBA agreement, which is an abbreviation for the Collective Bargaining Agreement, is a labor agreement that reflects the results of the “collective bargaining” negotiations between both the NFL and the NFLPA. The NFLPA is formally known as the National Football League Players Association, their job is to represent the athletes and protect their safety while playing and additionally protect their salaries from playing throughout the season. If and when the CBA agreement takes place the contract lasts a total of 10 football seasons or years. The last agreed CBA proposal was back in 2010 and now is due for an extension that was just agreed on this past month. This essay aims to not only argue but prove that the agreement in place is best for the majority of athletes in the league despite significant disagreement from players during the voting process.

There are quite a few key aspects of the CBA agreement that need to be considered while players vote yes or no for the proposal to pass. For this new CBA proposal, the players are given a one week window to thoroughly gather information and make their decision on whether to vote yes or no. Before the voting process began there were multiple complaints submitted by athletes with years of experience on the legalities that lie within the generated proposal. Some disagreement from athletes came when the league decided to add another game to the regular football season, regularly 16 weeks now expanded to 17, in addition to this change the league also expanded the NFL playoff structure. Although most of these players believe the agreement or proposal is unjust to players with experience in the league or veterans I argue that not only is it best for the league but it is best for the majority of the players. The players nearing retirement have a clear cut case that they don’t want their bodies to undertake excess injury at the final stages of their career. However, in refutation to this argument players are compensated that are currently under contract. All players under contract are paid regularly for the additional game and in addition to this in the proposal the minimum contract value for both rookies, middle-class players and veterans has gone up significantly.

With the players arguing that the CBA proposal is unfair the majority of the league consists of players in the prime years of their career and players that were either just drafted or undrafted. Due to this majority of athletes being in that characterized group I just mentioned the proposed CBA agreement has been approved by the players after the one week voting period. The margin for the final tally vote came down to a mere 60 vote margin. 1,019 players voted yes to ratify the new CBA, while 959 players voted against the ratification. This vote was conducted in a democratic matter which the NFL and NFLPA feel is the best way to safely and fairly conduct the voting process. Another big disagreement came with the voting process in the fact the players are unable to retract their vote and change their choice of yes or no. Although they may be swayed by other opinions in general elections for public officials, votes cannot be withdrawn so in the same case for this voting process that disagreement/argument is entirely invalid. There is plenty more to dissect with this CBA agreement in terms of what this agreement entails as well as what players opposed.

In addition to the increased playoff structure as well as the increase of one game to the NFL regular season, there were a few other changes that took place under this new proposed agreement. Players will now be getting 47% of all league revenue which is up from the last agreement signed and that number could rise even higher depending on partnership deals with TV stations as well as other sponsors. This is yet another reason why this deal is so beneficial to the athletes and the specific ones complaining are being unjust and unrealistic in what they are expecting. The NFL is all about expansion and with that comes change, players make a significant amount of money each year depending on their play as a whole and their style of playmaking. The fact that “some” players are against the proposal because of one game is completely irrational. Players continue to explore the benefits of this new deal with not only increased financials but suspension limitations. One problem in the league was always penalization for drugs and other substances as well as law-breaking. This new agreement allows no suspension for marijuana use which players use as a pain treatment. This is a significant gain for the athletes as they can now undergo treatments and not be halted by suspension warnings.This agreement has been protested for weeks and I feel personally with the facts presented that they are taking their role in the league for granted. These players are getting increased salaries and more leeway with the drug policy as well as more playing time. The veterans continue to only think about themselves and not the 60 percent of the league that is the future. That 60 percent is also the players that have not made a significant amount of money in their careers compared to the veterans that have had their fair share of paydays. I feel based on these facts listed within the NFL CBA agreement that the majority of players are getting the best deal they can get under the current world circumstances with the global pandemic taking place and affecting markets nationwide. The voting for this proposal is closed and nothing can be done officially to overturn this decision however, players will continue to revolt which will get them nowhere. In addition, this deal is very player-friendly for the next 10 years and they should not take that for granted.

In addition to the increased playoff structure as well as the increase of one game to the NFL regular season, there were a few other changes that took place under this new proposed agreement. Players will now be getting 47% of all league revenue which is up from the last agreement signed and that number could rise even higher depending on partnership deals with TV stations as well as other sponsors. This is yet another reason why this deal is so beneficial to the athletes and the specific ones complaining are being unjust and unrealistic in what they are expecting. The NFL is all about expansion and with that comes change, players make a significant amount of money each year depending on their play as a whole and their style of playmaking. The fact that “some” players are against the proposal because of one game is completely irrational. Players continue to explore the benefits of this new deal with not only increased financials but suspension limitations. One problem in the league was always penalization for drugs and other substances as well as law-breaking. This new agreement allows no suspension for marijuana use which players use as a pain treatment. This is a significant gain for the athletes as they can now undergo treatments and not be halted by suspension warnings.This agreement has been protested for weeks and I feel personally with the facts presented that they are taking their role in the league for granted. These players are getting increased salaries and more leeway with the drug policy as well as more playing time. The veterans continue to only think about themselves and not the 60 percent of the league that is the future. That 60 percent is also the players that have not made a significant amount of money in their careers compared to the veterans that have had their fair share of paydays. I feel based on these facts listed within the NFL CBA agreement that the majority of players are getting the best deal they can get under the current world circumstances with the global pandemic taking place and affecting markets nationwide. The voting for this proposal is closed and nothing can be done officially to overturn this decision however, players will continue to revolt which will get them nowhere. In addition, this deal is very player-friendly for the next 10 years and they should not take that for granted.

In conclusion, the newly agreed-upon proposed CBA agreement is the best agreement possible for the vast majority of NFL athletes. To recap, players only have to play one additional regular-season game, in turn, they receive increased salaries, increased revenue from NFL partnerships and larger minimum pays to any player at any position. Veterans will be sacrificing for one additional game that will furthermore deliver more profits to players and the league as a whole. As to the significance of this paper, it is directed to not only fans of football but to athletes who continue to rebel against this agreement. Fans need to understand that there is a significant amount of business and time that goes into playing football and that it is not just a sport to watch with your family. This sport dictates how lives are lived and can impact the futures of millions of people not just fans but for athlete’s families. For the other target audience, veteran players, do not take this agreement for granted money is being made and that is the reason that the majority of your group continues to play. Fair shares of earnings have been, retire if you are completely unhappy and against the sport that you are representing and participating in for all the years, you have been since being drafted. This agreement is in place and couldn’t be any better of an agreement for the majority of the league.

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www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001106247/article/nfl-players-approve-cba-impact-on-league-in-2020-and-beyond.

Goldman, Charles. “NFL Players Vote to Ratify New CBA.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 15 Mar. 2020,

Graziano, Dan. “NFL CBA Approved: What Players Get in New Deal, How Expanded Playoffs and Schedule Will Work.” ESPN, ESPN Internet Ventures, 15 Mar. 2020,