The CFL Players’ Association has voted to accept a new collective bargaining agreement with the league.
The union said in a statement that the players voted to accept the 5 year contract that was reached on Saturday with the CFL.
“It’s a YES!” offensive lineman Peter Dyakowski, a player rep with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats said on Twitter. “We’ve got a new CBA!
“It’s time to get back to football! .Everybodywins.”
It seems to be a major shift in attitude from a few days ago when players publicly expressed displeasure with the CBA agreement. All sides seem to be in agreement and ready to get back to football.
The CFL’s board of governors is scheduled to vote on the deal Friday. They are expected to accept the new deal.
The new CBA offers a new $5-million salary cap (an increase from $4.4 million last year) in the first year of the agreement after the CFLPA had originally proposed a $6.24-million cap
The Players union ended up getting the requested option year on CFL contracts eliminated which excludes rookies. The practice day remains at 4.5 hours but can be increased to a maximum of six hours while teams will hold just one padded practice a week during the regular season.
Jeff Keeping, a member of the union executive, and a member of the Toronto Argonauts said that players met on Wednesday night to discuss the matter.
“I’m happy the guys have all the facts,” Keeping said. “I feel at the end of the day the guys are more informed than they were prior to that.
“The mood is mixed. Guys are entitled to their own opinion and every man is going to make his own choice.”.
