Nfl Lockout, Nfl Owner | featured news

NFL owners have ratified a deal to lift the player lockout but it's unclear what that means for a collective bargaining agreement or when free agency might begin.

Negotiators for the NFL and locked-out players moved closer Thursday to a possible resolution of the economic issues at the heart of the sport’s nearly four-month shutdown. If completed, an agreement on how to divide the sport’s revenues would be a major step in their bid to complete a deal to end the lockout in the coming days.

Owners and players are expected to continue talking Friday in Minneapolis; the sides are sparring over issues like how to divide revenue.

NFL owners and their locked-out players have resumed court-ordered mediation. Commissioner Roger Goodell, executive vice president Jeff Pash and team owners Mike Brown, John Mara, Jerry Richardson and Art Rooney arrived at the federal courthouse in Minneapolis on Monday morning along with legal counsel.