Not much going on.
It is Labor Day and it is quiet on the sports front. The National Basketball Association is next up with collective bargaining agreement negotiations but there is still time left on the present agreement so there is no urgency to get a deal done. There is labor peace between the players and owners in Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Hockey League and Major League Soccer. The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association agreed to their last CBA in 2017. That agreement expires after the 2023-24 season, but both sides have an opt-out they can exercise in December. The NBA has two major negotiations coming up. The league will need a new deal with the players and also there is a new TV streaming deal that has to be negotiated.
The NFL and NHL extended their collective bargaining agreements with the players in 2020. The NFL-National Football League Players Association deal goes through the 2030-31 season. The NHL owners deal with the players expires after the 2025-26 season. The NFL-NFLPA pact reduced the number of preseason contests and increased the number of regular season games to 17. The agreement included an expanded playoff field, and increased roster sizes. The new NHL agreement allowed the players to participate in the 2022 and 2026 Olympics, increased minimum salaries, maximum entry-level salaries, and the playoff bonus pool. The NHL pulled out of the 2022 Beijing Olympics over COVID-19 concerns. Major League Baseball locked out its players in the 2021-22 off season and the talks dragged into the spring causing a loss of pre-season games. The owners and players agreed to increased minimum salaries, expanding the postseason, and setting up a bonus pool for young players who are not yet eligible for salary arbitration. The next sports labor flashpoint could be college athletes unionizing.
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