Tuesday 14 July 2020 07:29, UK
The NFL and the NFL Players Association held a bargaining session on Monday but failed to reach any agreements regarding the upcoming season, according to reports.
The meeting was held remotely and focused on economic issues with the league's finances likely to be affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
It is likely, for example, that should fans be permitted to return to stadiums when the season starts, the venues are likely to be limited in capacity.
Last Tuesday it was reported the NFL proposed holding 35 per cent of player salaries in escrow, and the NFLPA responded by sending an economic counter-proposal to the league on Sunday.
Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported that the league is expected to respond to this counter-proposal in the coming days.
Those talks could even take place again as soon as Tuesday, where further discussions regarding health and safety protocols involving the preseason, daily testing, and players opting out of their contracts due to coronavirus are set to be on the agenda.
San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman, an NFLPA vice president, tweeted, "Good meeting today with management. We were blunt and honest with them we will not compromise our players health in these discussions."
Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio quoted a source saying the Monday discussions went "as expected."
Meanwhile, ESPN reported the players are asking the league to increased its planned every-other-day coronavirus testing to every day.
Players also want to see the two still-scheduled preseason games for each team scrapped and want to lengthen the training camp "acclimation period" following an off-season without regular workouts.
The league have introduced a new helmet facemask that features a mouth shield, with training camps currently scheduled to begin on July 28.
The regular season is set to start with the Houston Texans visiting the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on September 10.
