Fans of the NFL: you have a decision to make. Because if you want to be upset about the lockout and consider missing out on the action in some sort of protest, you need to know that you’re going to have to choose sometime soon because commissioner Roger Goodell has given the league permission to reopen facilities on Saturday and reopen the year on Wednesday. The NFL Lockout is nearly over.
The players still have to vote on the agreement, but a 31-0 vote has brought together the owners to ratify, with Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis abstaining from his vote. The move is the first of two major votes needed to clear the necessary hurdles and begin the NFL offseason in earnest with free agency for both unrestricted and restricted free agents, undrafted free agents and team-resignings. Trades will ensue, players will move and teams will scramble like mad to put together their rosters. In other words, it’s everything fans have been waiting for.
The final details of the deal will come forth in the days to come and the players are set to vote by next Tuesday if they are to ratify what the owners have set forth. They also must reconstitute their players’ union by that time as well. There are still several hoops and players will give quotes that say they might not pass the deal, but the reality is that it’s all posturing at this point. The NFL is coming back and you’ll have plenty of player movement news soon enough. The question is whether or not you’re still angry enough to ignore it.