NFL, Players Finalize Agreement

The NFL and its players reached a landmark settlement Thursday, agreeing to a seven-year contract that may finally achieve labor peace after almost six years of legal battles. Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and NFL Players Assn. Executive Director Gene Upshaw made the joint announcement hours after the Executive Committee of the league’s Management Council unanimously approved the agreement on behalf on the 28 clubs.

The agreement must still be ratified by a majority of the members of the NFLPA.

The league and the players have been without an agreement since 1987. In the interim, there has been a strike, litigation, Plan B free agency and a period of unrestricted free agency that began during the winter.

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