The deadline for NFL players to opt out of the 2020 season is now expected to be Thursday or Friday, a source briefed on the discussions told ESPN’s Dan Graziano.
Attorneys for both sides continue to work on finalizing the language, but the NFL Players Association has agreed to shorten the window between the finalizing of the agreement and the opt-out deadline — which was originally supposed to be seven days — in exchange for some concessions on the final language.
On Sunday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the league was pushing to move up the deadline from one week after the new collective bargaining agreement side letter is signed to possibly as early as Wednesday. New England Patriots safety and longtime captain Devin McCourty reacted strongly to that notion.
“I think it is an absolute joke that the NFL is changing the opt-out period, mainly because they don’t want to continue to see guys opt out. I’m sure they’re shocked about how many guys have opted out,” McCourty said in a video conference with Patriots reporters. “I think it’s terrible. I think it’s B.S. that the league has changed that date.”