Following the news that the NFL owners had approved their own proposal to the players, Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt had this statement (via KCChiefs.com):
"It's been a long process; a tedious process. I do think we've ended up with a deal that's fair to both sides. As (N.Y. Giants President and CEO John Mara) mentioned, not everyone got what they wanted in the deal, but that usually is a sign of a fair agreement. I want to specifically thank the players who took part in the process, Jeff Saturday, Dominique Foxworth and the others. Their work was tremendous. We would not be standing here today without their steadfast involvement in the process over the last several weeks. I can just say on behalf of the Kansas City Chiefs and their fans that we're looking forward to getting back to football."
While I appreciate Clark Hunt's optimistic statement that the deal is basically done we're getting a different story from DeMaurice Smith and the players. The owners have only approved their proposal to the players. Smith and the players are getting a look at the proposal this evening so it doesn't sound like a players vote will happen until Friday, at the earliest.
And, according to Smith and the players, the owners have placed several terms in the proposal that weren't negotiated with the players. But NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in his press conference that they had "an agreement that was negotiated with the players." It's pretty late in the game to have more miscommunication.
It'll get done...at some point.