According to this ESPN report, the collective bargaining agreement is even closer than it’s been all weekend (when we thought the lockout would end every other hour). There were always some pretty major sticking points, however, such as retired player benefits and the court cases.
That’s why the bargaining teams are trying to roll all the most troubling aspects of this into one universal settlement. The agreement, if reached, would settle both the player lawsuits, the case against the “lockout insurance” money from the TV networks and all the other issues surrounding the case.
Judge Arthur Boylan, who’s hearing the court cases, will be on hand Monday to help with the negotiations. If he can help broker a settlement for the court cases, the lockout will end and football will be back on schedule.
Oh and all 32 teams should be on hand Thursday to ratify any agreement (if one’s ever reached). All the rules are pretty much in place, which means all that’s left is cleaning up the mess this lockout started in the first place…