NFL deal settled League season can officially go ahead after players ratify new deal

The new NFL year has officially begun after the players ratified the new ten-year collective bargaining agreement.

The NFL lockout, the first since 1987, lasted four-and-a-half months but has now been officially ended after the newly-reformed players union gave the green light to the new CBA.

Much of the new CBA had been agreed upon last month, but a couple of major issues needed to be sorted out before the whole agreement can be signed off.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and players association (NFLPA) chief DeMaurice Smith will sign the document in a ceremony on the steps of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio on Friday morning.

The scheduled Hall of Fame game between the St Louis Rams and Chicago Bears is the only game to have been lost to the lockout, and now the new season and pre-season can officially get underway.

Sticking point

A major sticking point was the introduction of drug testing for human growth hormone (HGH), which the league are keen to introduce but players are still wary of.

The random HGH tests could be in place for the start of the new season but the NFLPA will have to be happy with the manner of these tests before they can be introduced.

"Everyone in this game has championed making sure drugs aren't involved in our game. So we are finding our way through this," said Indianapolis Colts centre Jeff Saturday, who has been a key member of the players' negotiating team. "It hasn't been easy, just understanding all the ins and outs of it."

Another sticking point was punishment for on-field offences, with the NFLPA now being consulted before players are banned or fined more than $50,000, while players can appeal if fined more than 25 percent of their weekly salary for a first offence or half of their salary for a second offence.

Players who have recently signed new contracts or joined new teams can now officially join in with training, and hopefully now all the talk will be about on-field issues as a new season goes ahead as normal, despite all the lockout troubles of the last few months.