According to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, the NFL and NFLPA have agreed in principal on a new labor deal. The executive committee will meet on Monday and recommend players to approve the labor deal, as the minor issues that lingered have been negotiated. Players could report starting Wednesday and the NFLPA should have enough votes on Friday to re-form the union.
Under this agreement, free agency would begin on Saturday, completely. There would be no 72-hour transition period and free agency would start.
Despite the fact the new agreement will require a majority vote from the players, that part of the deal between the two sides is considered a formality, according to sources.
The NFLPA is making plans for a major press conference Monday. But first the player reps' executive committee is scheduled to fly to Washington, D.C., on Sunday so they can vote Monday.
Just as the NFL would not have called a vote Thursday in Atlanta without knowing it would pass in the way it did -- 31-0 with one abstention -- the NFLPA would also not be going forward without that assurance.
If everything is agreed to, as expected, the only game that would be missed is the Hall of Fame game.