It looks like your favorite NFL team will have 17 games a season in the coming years. According to reports, the NFL players voted to approve a new collective bargaining agreement with the league's owners, ensuring NFL labor peace through at least 2030 and clearing the way for a 17-game regular season as early as 2021.
The vote, which required a simple majority to pass, received 51.5% approval (1,019 to 959) from players. As a result, the new CBA will allow the NFL to expand its regular season from 16 to 17 games as early as 2021 and expand the playoff field from 12 teams to 14 as soon as the 2020 season. It also includes higher minimum salaries ($198.2 million salary cap), improvements to benefits for current and former players, expanded rosters and practice squads, and changes to the league's drug and discipline policies, all of which will go into effect in 2020.
"We are pleased that the players have voted to ratify the proposed new CBA, which will provide substantial benefits to current and retired players, increase jobs, ensure continued progress on player safety, and give our fans more and better football," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. "We appreciate the tireless efforts of the members of the Management Council Executive Committee and the NFLPA leadership, both of whom devoted nearly a year to detailed, good faith negotiations to reach this comprehensive, transformative agreement."
Commissioner Roger Goodell also issued a statement, saying: "We are pleased that the players have voted to ratify the proposed new CBA, which will provide substantial benefits to all current and retired players, increase jobs, ensure continued progress on player safety, and give our fans more and better football.”
Kobe Bryant Comments On The WNBA’s Historic New CBA
Kobe has been a big supporter of women's basketball.
Women's basketball continues to grow all around the world and athletes are starting to get recognized for their work. Female sports leagues around the world are starting to sprout up and gain in popularity. The WNBA is one of the leagues that has enjoyed some success over the last decade and over this past year, they have been negotiating a brand new collective bargaining agreement for its players.
Yesterday, we reported that the WNBA's new CBA will include average salaries of $130,000 with max salaries of $500,000. These are the highest totals in league history and demonstrates a huge sign of growth for the league. NBA legend Kobe Bryant has been a huge proponent of women's basketball and recently spoke to reporter Delmy Barillas about the WNBA's recent announcement.
“I was really proud of Cathy (Engelbert) and the deal she was able to strike with the players association," Kobe said. "There’s still so much room to grow but this a huge step in the right direction.”
With higher salaries in place, players won't have to worry as much about playing in multiple leagues to make a living. They will also have better traveling accommodations and marketing opportunities which will only help the league grow more.
WNBA Negotiates Landmark CBA Agreement, New Salaries Revealed
This is big news for women's basketball.
Over the past decade, women's sports have grown quite a bit as people begin to expand their horizons and check out new leagues and teams. The WNBA has enjoyed some growth over the past few years and recently, the players were given the opportunity to negotiate a brand new collective bargaining agreement. Fans were interested to see if the players could get more money considering all the strides that have been made over the last little while.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the WNBA and its fans received some good news today. As of next season, the average salary will be six figures, for the first time ever. The official number is $130,000 while the top players will be able to make close to $500,000. There will also be a whole plethora of new opportunities, as outlined below.
With these new rules in place, WNBA players are now in the best position they've ever been in. The league seems to be doing quite well and now the players will get to enjoy some of that success in the form of some profit-sharing. If you're a WNBA fan, this should be great news as it's a big step forward for women's sports leagues.
Perhaps in the future, these numbers will be able to go up by even more.
