There's been a rash of credible reporters in the past few days citing sources on both sides regarding optimism of a new CBA deal being done as late as July 15th. Not even two weeks ago, CBS Sports Mike Freeman wrote that
There is a still a great deal of work to do ... but it appears the owners and players have made significant headway in reaching a new labor agreement, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions. One high ranking member of the former union estimated to me a new deal would be reached within two to three weeks, if not sooner. 'This is the most optimistic I've been in many months,' Freeman said.
Fast forward to June 10th and Albert Breer of the NFL Network reported that players and owners have made significant progress towards a new collective bargaining agreement.
Over the weekend, Sports Business Journal's Daniel Kaplan tweeted, "Told optimism is so high in NFL, players talks over labor deal that expectation is for a framework agreement in about two weeks."
Lastly, Lance Zierlan of the Houston Chronicle blogged recently that a deal could happen sooner than you think.
After lengthy discussions with both sources, they both conveyed to me a great deal of hope that a deal would be done by July and possibly as early as late June. Why the sudden optimism? According to one of the sources, 'both sides are focusing on the percentage of total revenue coming in (would include the first $1 billion the owners are currently taking off the top) and if that deal gets done, the other issues will probably fall into place fairly quickly according to what I'm hearing.
So, what's all this mean? A deal will likely come soon. My guess would be in the next 30 days or so. It's also worth noting that the back and forth public rhetoric between both sides has basically stopped.