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COLLEGE PARK, Ga. (AP) - NFL owners voted overwhelmingly in
favor of a tentative 10-year agreement to end the lockout, pending
player approval.


      Thursday's vote was 31-0, with the Oakland Raiders abstaining
from the ratification, which came after a full day of meetings at
an Atlanta-area hotel. While owners pored over the terms,
Commissioner Roger Goodell spoke on the phone several times with
NFL Players Association head DeMaurice Smith, including filling him
in on the results of the vote before it was announced.


      "Hopefully, we can all work quickly, expeditiously, to get this
agreement done," Goodell said. "It is time to get back to
football. That's what everybody here wants to do."


      Players still had to sign off on the deal - and they must
re-establish their union quickly for the agreement to stand, the
NFL said. Players didn't vote on a full pact Wednesday because
there were unresolved issues; they could have a conference
call late Thursday.


      However, Smith wrote in an email to the 32 player
representatives shortly after the owners' decision: "Issues that
need to be collectively bargained remain open; other issues, such
as workers' compensation, economic issues and end of deal terms,
remain unresolved. There is no agreement between the NFL and the
players at this time. I look forward to our call tonight."


      Several players took to Twitter, expressing opposition to the
proposal passed by the owners. Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan
Clark wrote: "The owners want u to believe that they have been
extremely fair everywhere and this is their 'olive branch' to
finalize it."


      The four-month lockout is the NFL's first work stoppage since
1987.
      One game was taken off the schedule Thursday: The exhibition
opener - the Aug. 7 Hall of Fame game between Chicago and St. Louis
- was canceled.


      "The time was just too tight," Goodell said. "Unfortunately,
we're not going to be able to play the game this year."


      Team facilities will open Saturday, and the new league year will
begin Wednesday, he said - providing the players approve the
agreement, too.


      Owners exercised an opt-out clause in the old collective
bargaining agreement in 2008, setting the stage for the recent
labor impasse. The new deal does not contain an opt-out clause.


      "I can't say we got everything we wanted to get in the deal,"
New York Giants owner John Mara said. "I'm sure (players) would
say the same thing. ... The best thing about it is our fans don't
have to hear about labor-management relations for another 10
years."


      The old CBA expired March 11, when federally mediated
negotiations fell apart, and the owners locked out the players
hours later. Since then, teams have not been allowed to communicate
with current NFL players; players - including those drafted in
April - could not be signed; and teams did not pay for players'
health insurance.


      The basic framework for the league's new economic model -
including how to split more than $9 billion in annual revenues -
was set up during negotiations last week.


      "These things, by their very nature, aren't supposed to make
you necessarily happy when you walk out the door. It was a
negotiation," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. "I don't mean to
sound negative, but it isn't exactly like Christmas has come along
here."


      Final issues involved how to set aside three pending court
cases, including the antitrust lawsuit filed against the NFL in
federal court in Minnesota by Tom Brady and nine other players. NFL
general counsel Jeff Pash said the owners' understanding is that
case will be dismissed.


      One thing owners originally sought and won't get, at least right
away, is expanding the regular season from 16 games to 18. That
won't change before 2013, and the players must agree to a switch.


      "We heard the players loud and clear. They pushed back pretty
hard on that issue," said Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay,
chairman of the league's competition committee.


      Goodell also announced that owners approved a supplemental
revenue-sharing system, something Smith noted in his email to team
reps. "Obviously, we have not been a part of those discussions,"
he wrote.


      Even after all acceptable terms are established, a deal would
lead to a new CBA only if NFLPA team reps recommend re-establishing
the group as a union, which must be approved by a majority vote of
the 1,900 players.


      In March, when talks broke down and the old CBA expired, the
NFLPA said it was dissolving itself as a union and instead becoming
a trade association, a move that allowed the players to sue the
league under antitrust law. But only a union can sign off on a CBA.


      "We think we have a fair, balanced agreement," Panthers owner
Jerry Richardson said.


      The deal makes significant changes in offseason workout
schedules, reducing team programs by five weeks and cutting
organized team activities (OTAs) from 14 to 10 sessions. There will
be limited on-field practice time and contact, and more days off
for players.


      Current players will be able to stay in the medical plan for
life. They also will have an injury protection benefit of up to $1
million of a player's salary for the year after his injury and up
to $500,000 in the second year after his injury.


      A total of $50 million per year will go into a joint fund for
medical research, health-care programs, and charities.


      If the players approve the deal, the NFL will go back to the
business football pretty quickly:


      - On Saturday, teams can stage voluntary workouts at club
facilities, and players may be waived. Contracts can be
re-negotiated and clubs can sign draft picks and their own free
agents. Teams can also negotiate with, but not sign, free agents
from other clubs and undrafted rookies.


      - On Sunday, teams can sign undrafted rookies.


      - On Wednesday, the league year officially begins, so free agency
opens in full, and all training camps will open with a 90-man
roster limit; activities that day will be limited to physicals,
meetings and conditioning. All clubs must be under the salary cap.


      - Players can practice without pads next Thursday and Friday.

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