NFL Players Approve Deal To End NFL Lockout

News9.com and Wire Reports

WASHINGTON – The NFL lockout is officially over. After 132 days of negotiations, the NFL Players Association and 32 team reps unanimously voted Monday to approve the terms of a deal to end the lockout.

"Football is back and that's great news for everybody" said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in a press conference Monday outside the NFL headquarters in Washington.

Both sides worked through the weekend and came to a settlement early Monday morning and according to the Associated Press the final pact is for 10 years with no opt-out clause.

"I know it has been a very long process since the day we stood here that night in March," said NFLPA leader DeMaurice Smith. "But our guys stood together when nobody thought we would. And football is back because of it."

Owners approved a proposal last week, but some areas of the agreement had to be reviewed before the players agreed to the proposal; the owners did not need to vote again.

It is expected that trade discussions and free agent lists will be distributed to teams on Tuesday and that later his week teams will begin reporting to camp as well as signing and renegotiating with players. Below is an updated timeline

The league's old labor deal expired in March, and the owners locked out the players, the NFL's first work stoppage since 1987.

Timeline for league business:

• Monday: The NFL will announce that teams can go to 90-man rosters and the official free-agent list will be distributed to teams.

• Tuesday: Trades can commence. Teams can reach agreements with rookies and undrafted free agents beginning at 10 a.m. ET. Teams can reach agreements with all free agents and signed players are allowed to enter team facilities.

• Wednesday: Players can begin reporting to training camps 15 days before their first preseason games. According to the proposed timeline, 10 teams would report on Wednesday, 10 more on Thursday and 10 additional teams on Friday. The New York Jets and Houston Texans would be the last two teams to report, on Sunday.

• Thursday: Teams can begin to cut players at 4 p.m. ET.

• Friday: Teams can begin filing transactions to the league office at 6 p.m. ET.

• Aug. 4: Deadline for recertification and ratification of the collective bargaining agreement by the players.