Clear division within NFLPA despite ratified agreement

The National Football League Players’ Association supported a new collective bargaining agreement on Sunday, however by analyzing the vote, there is still clear division within the organization. Of the 1978 votes, there was 1019 who voted yes and 959 who voted no according to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports.

What was remarkable however is that 500 players did not vote at all. The fact that the CBA only received 51.5% support from those who decided to vote still states that there is definite concern by many to the changes the owners of the National Football League have decided to implement.

The major change to the 2020 NFL season will be the addition of two playoff teams. The top seven teams in each conference will make the playoffs, with only the top team in each conference getting a first round bye.

The NFL schedule will also increase from 16 games each in the regular season to 17 games each in the regular season starting in either 2021, 2022 or 2023. Once the NFL changes the number of games in the regular season, they will then reduce the number of exhibition games from four to three per team.

The NFL is also increasing the number of players on the active roster from 53 to 55 and increasing the number of players on the game day roster from 46 players to 48 players. There are also rules being implemented for offensive linemen. If a team has a minimum of eight offensive linemen, a team must have 48 players on game day. If a team has seven or fewer offensive lineman, a team must have a limit of 47 players.

When it comes to drug use, the penalties are a lot more lenient. According to Austin Anderson of The Sporting News, players will no longer be suspended for testing positive for marijuana. Instead, players will receive help and will only receive assistance if they have 150 nanograms or more of marijuana, (up from 35 nanograms of marijuana which resulted in a suspension before).

If players take performance enhancing drugs, the suspensions are more, but not nearly enough to what many critics would like them to be. They include a failed test for stimulants (two games), a failed test for anabolic steroids (six games), a manipulation or substitution of a prohibited substance (eight games), a second failed test for stimulants (five games) and a second failed test for anabolic steroids (17 games).

When it comes to income, players will receive 48.5% of the total revenue once the season increases to 17 games. What do you think of the new CBA in the NFL? We would love to hear from you, now that watching sports is very limited.