Goodell Hopeful CBA Negotiations can Re-open Before Draft

National Football League (NFL) Commissioner Roger Goodell has not given up hope that collective bargaining negotiations could begin before next month’s Draft, something that is only likely, however, if the NFLPA faced significant setbacks.

The outside counsel to the NFLPA and class counsel to the players who launched a lawsuit against the league’s lockout have offered to talk to the league about settling the lawsuit. However, as the NFLPA has professed not to be a union, it cannot engage in collective bargaining. 

Goodell stated: “There will hopefully be negotiations before the Draft. It would be terrific if we could sit down and work towards an agreement before the Draft. We’ll have to wait and see on the litigation steps and see what the courts determine.” 

The commissioner ruled out using replacement players if games are lost, and strongly suggested the last offer to the players might not ever come back because of mounting economic losses caused by the lockout.