With the 2019 season speeding toward a start, the NFL and NFL Players Association will continue hammering away at a potential new collective bargaining agreement.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Monday morning that the seventh CBA full bargaining session between the NFL and NFLPA will happen tonight and Tuesday in Chicago, per a source informed of the talks.
Rapoport noted that with 10 days before the season kicks off, a new deal before the start of the playing year is considered unlikely, but talks continue to move in a positive direction.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said earlier in the spring that ideally, the league would have a new CBA before the start of the season. That optimistic timeline has since been elongated.
The current CBA expires after the 2020 season.
One issue likely to be discussed in the latest talks is the preseason. Rapoport and NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported last week that players and owners were open to expanding playoffs, a move that could come with the curtailing of the preseason. With many teams sitting their starters for all preseason games this season, the call for cutting the preseason has gotten louder in recent weeks.
Even as it's unlikely we're nearing the end of bargaining soon, that the sides are still talking positively is a baby step toward an eventual resolution.
