They're at the edge of the end zone, ready to punch it in.
That sums up the NFL's labor situation after another hugely productive day made it clear an agreement that would end the lockout and salvage the 2011 season as scheduled is within grasp.
The owners and players don't have a deal just yet, but an agreement Monday or Tuesday looks realistic after the sides issued a joint statement following daylong talks in Midtown that was more optimistic than any issued during the 4-month-old ordeal.
"The discussions this week have been constructive, and progress has been made on a wide range of issues," the NFL and the currently decertified NFL Players Association said in the statement, which also noted that negotiations would continue through the weekend.
A union spokesman immediately followed the statement by telling reporters "things are in a good place." An NFL spokesman standing next to him then said, "We don't disagree with anything he just said."
Another good sign that a settlement to the players' antitrust lawsuit and a new collective bargaining agreement that would last 7 to 10 years are near: NFLPA chief DeMaurice Smith said he planned to talk with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell today, either in person or by phone, in hopes of hammering out a deal.
Two previously scheduled events next week add to the growing sense of momentum. The sides are being summoned to Minneapolis on Tuesday by a federal mediator openly intent on getting a deal done, and the owners are set to meet in Atlanta on Thursday with the hope of ratifying a new CBA.
The players would have to sign off on any agreement and drop their antitrust suit, but those seemed to be formalities based on the jovial statements coming from Smith and his player representatives late yesterday after nearly 10 hours of talks.
If all of that happens, a brief -- and no doubt frenzied -- period of free agency would begin within a couple of days after the agreement is signed before camps opened as scheduled at the end of the month.
Details on the progress made yesterday were sparse, but sources already have confirmed the sides are in basic agreement on the main issues of how to split the league's revenue ($9.3 billion last season) and how much to curb the out-of-control deals handed to high draft picks in recent years.
Sources say the players have agreed to reduce their take to roughly 48 percent (down from 53 percent under the previous deal) after the owners agreed to stop skimming $1 billion off the top of the revenue pool and promised to increase those revenues exponentially over the next six years.
The sides also have agreed to bring first-round rookie salaries down dramatically, though there still is some haggling over how many years the owners can control those players.
Though a handshake agreement has not happened, both sides struggled to see any obstacle formidable enough to torpedo the talks and extend the longest work stoppage in league history much further.
"This has been as productive a time as we've had [during the talks]," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. "Everybody is focused in."
That sums up the NFL's labor situation after another hugely productive day made it clear an agreement that would end the lockout and salvage the 2011 season as scheduled is within grasp.
The owners and players don't have a deal just yet, but an agreement Monday or Tuesday looks realistic after the sides issued a joint statement following daylong talks in Midtown that was more optimistic than any issued during the 4-month-old ordeal.
"The discussions this week have been constructive, and progress has been made on a wide range of issues," the NFL and the currently decertified NFL Players Association said in the statement, which also noted that negotiations would continue through the weekend.
A union spokesman immediately followed the statement by telling reporters "things are in a good place." An NFL spokesman standing next to him then said, "We don't disagree with anything he just said."
Another good sign that a settlement to the players' antitrust lawsuit and a new collective bargaining agreement that would last 7 to 10 years are near: NFLPA chief DeMaurice Smith said he planned to talk with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell today, either in person or by phone, in hopes of hammering out a deal.
Two previously scheduled events next week add to the growing sense of momentum. The sides are being summoned to Minneapolis on Tuesday by a federal mediator openly intent on getting a deal done, and the owners are set to meet in Atlanta on Thursday with the hope of ratifying a new CBA.
The players would have to sign off on any agreement and drop their antitrust suit, but those seemed to be formalities based on the jovial statements coming from Smith and his player representatives late yesterday after nearly 10 hours of talks.
If all of that happens, a brief -- and no doubt frenzied -- period of free agency would begin within a couple of days after the agreement is signed before camps opened as scheduled at the end of the month.
Details on the progress made yesterday were sparse, but sources already have confirmed the sides are in basic agreement on the main issues of how to split the league's revenue ($9.3 billion last season) and how much to curb the out-of-control deals handed to high draft picks in recent years.
Sources say the players have agreed to reduce their take to roughly 48 percent (down from 53 percent under the previous deal) after the owners agreed to stop skimming $1 billion off the top of the revenue pool and promised to increase those revenues exponentially over the next six years.
The sides also have agreed to bring first-round rookie salaries down dramatically, though there still is some haggling over how many years the owners can control those players.
Though a handshake agreement has not happened, both sides struggled to see any obstacle formidable enough to torpedo the talks and extend the longest work stoppage in league history much further.
"This has been as productive a time as we've had [during the talks]," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. "Everybody is focused in."
