The NFL and its players association agreed to a settlement to end its 4½-month lockout on Monday. The NFLPA executive committee and 32 team reps voted unanimously to approve the terms of the deal, which was signed by both sides Monday.
LINK:
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/6799301/nflpa-oks-deal-roger-goodell-says-football-backTIMELINE:
• Monday: Teams can go to 90-man rosters and the official free-agent list will be distributed to teams.
• Tuesday: Trades can commence. Teams can reach agreements with rookies and undrafted free agents beginning at 10 a.m. ET. Teams can reach agreements with all free agents and signed players are allowed to enter team facilities.
• Wednesday: Players can begin reporting to training camps 15 days before their first preseason games. New York Jets and Houston Texans would be the last two teams to report, on Sunday.
• Thursday: Teams can begin to cut players at 4 p.m. ET.
• Friday: Teams can begin file free-agent signings to the league office at 6 p.m. ET.
• Aug. 4: Deadline for recertification and ratification of the collective bargaining agreement by the players.
ON EDIT: The final process for negotiating the new collective bargaining agreement will begin after the settlement agreement is passed and the NFLPA recertifies as a union. Benefits and health care, handling of grievances and the substance-abuse policy are all things that players will negotiate after they reform as a union, but the lack of a CBA will not hold up 2011 league business from beginning.