NFLPAExecutive Director DeMaurice Smith on a conference call with reporters today said it was "probably likely" that the NFL's new TV deals would be completed before the 2021 salary cap was set, but he did not know for certain. Smith: "It's probably likely but once again ... I am not in those meetings."
The league year starts March 17th and agents can begin negotiating deals with clubs two days earlier, per SBJ's Liz Mullen. The NFL and NFLPA agreed last month that the salary cap would be no less than $180 million, but have not set a final number. The NFL is currently in negotiations with multiple networks, and those pending agreements could increase the salary cap number, although it is still expected to be below the $198.2 million cap of last year.
Smith also said that a decision to play 17 regular-season games was up to the NFL and the league has not informed the union whether that would happen or not. NBC Sportsreported earlier this week that it was "highly likely" that the NFL would implement a 17-game schedule in 2021.
"With respect to the 17th game, I mean, you know, it's the league," Smith said. "They set the schedule, so they are going to have to tell us what the schedule is, at some point."
