ESPN is reporting that the NFLPA and NFL owners have come to an agreement on the previously unresolved issues that were holding up the ratification of a new CBA. This means that the only things standing in the way of the new CBA going into effect are a vote by the players' executive committee and board of player reps and a vote on recertification by the rest of the league's players.
While nothing is obviously official until all of these votes take place, this part of the process is viewed as nothing more than a mere formality. I personally won't breathe a sigh of relief until the very last vote is held, but the fact that we've gotten to this point before Monday is very good, as is reading things like this:
Players are flying to Washington to vote on it. But it will pass.
"It's done," one player source said. "We have an agreement. Now we just have to vote."
Pro Football Talk put together a post outlining the procedure for the players to vote on the new CBA. The first vote will be with the players' executive committee. If they recommend approval of the settlement, the player reps will then hold a vote. If they pass it, then the final step is for players to vote for recertification at the team facilities across the country. Once that happens, the new rules will officially go into place.