At one point, San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman didn't sound too optimistic that another NFL lockout was avoidable, feeling that a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that includes a 17-game regular-season was too much of a risk to players.
On Thursday, the NFL took a step toward a new agreement as the league and NFL Players Association met, and team owners agreed in principle to the terms of a new CBA.
As expected, those terms include an option for a 17-game season, which is expected to begin at some point between the 2021 and 2023 seasons.
Sherman remains against the proposal. When J.J. Watt voiced his displeasure surrounding the reported terms of the new CBA, the 49ers cornerback urged the Houston Texans defensive end to communicate his feelings with his team's NFLPA representative.
Leadership! I am with you! Please communicate with your team rep. https://t.co/JucZbwqoa2
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) February 21, 2020
Sherman and the other NFLPA team representatives will jump on a conference call today to discuss and potentially vote on the new CBA terms. That's when he will have an opportunity to voice his opposition. If passed at that stage, it will move on to a league-wide player vote.
"I don't think it's something that players are interested in, honestly," Sherman said earlier this month, "and if that's the point they are negotiating on, I think these negotiations are going to go a lot longer than anticipated."
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) February 21, 2020
Sherman opposing a 17-game regular season has everything to do with safety, and he doesn't feel that players should sacrifice their bodies for an added paycheck. Sherman finds it ironic that the NFL always preaches that it seeks to protect players, but is trying to push a situation that could lead to more injuries.
"It's odd to me, and it's always odd when you hear player safety is their biggest concern, and they're really standing up for player safety," Sherman continued. "Player safety, player safety. But it seems like player safety has a price tag. Player safety up to the point of, 'Hey, 17 games makes us this much money, so we really don't care how safe they are if you're going to pay us this much money to play another game.'
"That's the part that's really concerning for us as a union and us as players because they think that players have a price tag on their health and I don't think we're in the same ballpark in that regard."
Sherman also retweeted the following post by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
How would players be compensated for a 17th game if they signed contracts based on a 16-game schedule? Basically, under proposed CBA, they'd get an extra game check, but it'd be capped at $250,000, per sources. So the highest-paid players would play for less than usual.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 20, 2020
