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NFL, officials have agreement to end lockout
The NFL and the NFL Referees Association reached an agreement late Wednesday night on an eight-year collective bargaining agreement that will end the referee lockout, both sides confirmed.
The two sides are looking at text and expect to sign the deal by Thursday morning, a league source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. There will be a regular referee union crew in Baltimore for Thursday night's Ravens-Browns game, according to a league source.
"Our officials will be back on the field starting tomorrow night," commissioner Roger Goodell said in a joint statment released by the NFL and NFLRA. "We appreciate the commitment of the NFLRA in working through the issues to reach this important agreement."
"Our Board of Directors has unanimously approved taking this proposed CBA to the membership for a ratification vote," NFLRA president Scott Green said in the joint statement. "We are glad to be getting back on the field for this week's games."
The NFLRA says its 121 referees have been trained on the new rules implemented last season, have already passed physicals or are prepared to pass physicals immediately. New official game uniforms designed by Nike are "hardly an obstacle," a source told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen.
Source: AP