Executive committee to meet in attempt to end lockout

The National Football League and its players continued to make progress yesterday toward a deal to end the lockout, a decision that could come as soon as today.

The Players Association executive committee is scheduled to meet today at its headquarters in Washington. The hope is that the complete global settlement agreement would be in place so it could go to a vote, but sources said it's not certain to happen.

There's a chance it could spill over into tomorrow. The list of seven outstanding issues the NFLPA had with the owners' proposal is now down to two: the seven-year opt-out, and the plan for the recertification of the union.

With regard to the opt-out, the players want that protection, in case they feel this deal winds up not being fair to them, while the owners want a full 10-year deal because it will make the next television-rights contracts easier to negotiate - and more lucrative.

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