Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers Aren’t Fans of the New NFL CBA
Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers have had some great battles against one another over the years. However, in the matter of the new NFL collective bargaining agreement, the two franchise quarterbacks seem to be on the same side.
While the proposal was approved last week by NFL owners, though not unanimously, the NFLPA’s executive committee voted 6-5 against the new contract. However, they opted to hold a vote of its 32 player representatives, which followed a meeting with the league on Tuesday in Indianapolis. The vote to send the proposal to the entire NFLPA membership passed 17-14, with one member abstaining.
That means the new proposal will now go to the approximately 2,000 members of the NFLPA for approval. Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers aren’t happy about it.
What is in the new NFL CBA?
Under the new 10-year proposal, which owners are likely hoping will go into effect this year in order to secure a new, lucrative TV deal, the NFL would move to a 17-game schedule, likely starting in 2021. A new playoff format has also been proposed, which would add one extra playoff team to each conference, but that’s actually not an official bargaining issue. League officials would simply prefer to have a new deal in place before instituting the new format.
Teams would play one less preseason game, moving from four to three, and rosters would expand from 53 to 55 players, which many players feel isn’t enough. Players would also earn a higher percentage of league revenue and pensions for former players would also be upgraded. There would also be a cap on the number of games played outside the United States.
Russell Wilson isn’t a fan of the new CBA
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson usually isn’t one to rock the boat. It’s quite rare for the Super Bowl champ to speak out on league matters but he emphatically voiced his displeasure with the new CBA in a Twitter post on Wednesday morning.
While Wilson didn’t specify exactly what his concerns were, the references to Major League Baseball and the NBA seem to indicate that he might have a problem with the lack of guaranteed contracts in the NFL. Every single contract in MLB and most NBA contracts offer guaranteed money. The NFL does not offer such contracts, but instead guarantee a certain amount of money that could be more based on bonuses and incentives. This practice can sometimes deny players millions of dollars.
Russell Wilson also seems to be concerned with how fast the process is moving, seemingly asking the rest of the NFLPA not to rush a vote that will impact the next decade of the league. ESPN analyst Josina Anderson tweeted out that at least one of the 32 reps might feel the same way.
Aaron Rodgers reportedly doesn’t like the new CBA either
ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who might be the guy when it comes to NFL news, is reporting that Aaron Rodgers isn’t happy with the new CBA either.
Rodgers was a big part of Tuesday night’s meeting, sources told ESPN’s Brooke Pryor, and he seems to be just one of numerous players that were wishing for more negotiations on the offseason program. Schefter’s tweet mentions that the Packers quarterback wanted “more free time for the players.”
Some of the measures of the new agreement also deal with the offseason and training camp schedules. Under the new CBA, the number of padded practices during camp would drop from 28 to 16 and the number of days off would increase to eight, up from five.
The vote on the new NFL CBA is expected to take place in the next few weeks. Approval requires a simple majority.
