NFL, Players Agree to Labor Extension

Crisis averted—for one week: The NFL and the players’ union have agreed to a seven-day extension of their collective bargaining agreement, a federal mediator announced on Friday. This marks the second such extension, after a 24-hour reprieve was granted before the CBA expired on Thursday. Talks between the two parties will resume on Monday. The last time labor unrest hit the NFL was in 1989, when the owners attempted to lock out the players, only to have the players’ union prevent such action through the courts. President Obama weighed in on the dispute, saying, “You've got owners, most of whom are worth close to a billion dollars. You've got players who are making millions of dollars. My working assumption, at a time when people are having to cut back, compromise and worry about making the mortgage and paying for their kids' college educations, is that the two parties should be able to work it out without the president of the United States intervening.”