The NFL owners and players wrapped up Round 3 of their clandestine meetings today on Maryland’s eastern shore, hopefully an exercise that will bring the two sides closer to an agreement.
“Discussions between NFL owners and players under the auspices of Chief Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan took place again this week and will continue,” the two sides said in a joint release. “At the request of Judge Boylan, both sides have agreed to maintain the confidentiality of the substance of the talks.”
Present for the meetings were NFL commissioner Roger Goodell along with owners Jerry Richardson, Clark Hunt, Robert Kraft, John Mara and Dean Spanos. Representing the players were DeMaurice Smith, the NFLPA boss, Kevin Mawae, Domonique Foxworth, Tony Richardson, Jeff Saturday and Brian Waters.
The next step would seem to be an NFL owners meeting scheduled for Tuesday in Chicago. How much new information the group as a whole will have to consider remains to be seen. Some believes a deal could be in place at some point during the next month.
The owners and players met in suburban Chicago at the start of the month and had meetings last week in New York. Hopefully, they’ll be getting together again soon.
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Brad Biggs covers the Bears for the Chicago Tribune