Currently, NFL teams across the league are in the middle of the Organized Team Activities portion of the league calendar. But it sounds like this portion of the league calendar could be eliminated in the near future.
According to a report from Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, the NFL Players Association is finalizing a proposal that could radically alter the league calendar.
“End of OTAs? The NFL Players Association is working to finalize a proposal to overhaul the offseason starting as soon as 2025, eliminating voluntary on-field work in the spring in favor of a longer training camp ramp-up, with players reporting in mid-June to early July, per sources,” Pelissero said in a post on X, the social media website that was formerly known as Twitter.
The union has been seeking feedback on the plan from players, a majority of whom support the change, sources say. A formal proposal is expected this summer.
Offseason work rules are collectively bargained, and any changes would require an agreement with the NFL.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) May 28, 2024
“The union has been seeking feedback on the plan from players, a majority of whom support the change, sources say. A formal proposal is expected this summer. Offseason work rules are collectively bargained, and any changes would require an agreement with the NFL,” Pelissero said in a follow-up post.
Obviously, this would be a significant change, and the NFL world had a lot to say about it on social media.
Prediction: Players, coaches and anyone else involved in football ops would end up absolutely despising this. As it stands, the calendar is largely filled, but there is a month where guys can get away, and people's kids are out of school for vacation, and the league shuts down. https://t.co/9ZhEjDUV13
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) May 28, 2024
This is going to suck for coaches/personnel departments. The break in the NFL calendar married up well with end of school year, which allowed families to have quality time together. Getting your break while school is still in session would be a bummer. https://t.co/DThRp72c0y
— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) May 28, 2024
So not an end to OTAs.. seemingly just a readjustment of when they’d be
They did something similar during Covid.. I believe most of the guys loved it for their bodies and such going into training camp https://t.co/BCAUCnsq0z
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 28, 2024
The NFL taking over the entire summer would be incredible. Forget baseball. The NFL is going to challenge the NBA Finals with practices. https://t.co/UrDpxeN8Ol
— Ben Axelrod (@BenAxelrod) May 28, 2024
Can’t imagine players being in favor of a longer training camp. Maybe report in mid-June and only scattered breaks through January?
Maybe I read them wrong. https://t.co/VKve6Rsp2L— Mike Chappell (@mchappell51) May 28, 2024
This is a good example of why the NFLPA gets railed every negotiation – there's a significant portion of players that won't like this at all.
The NFL can pull together 32 billionaires to one set of wishes fairly easily.
The NFLPA has no shot of getting a unified front for… https://t.co/YzWjTRrbmE
— Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) May 28, 2024
It will certainly be interesting to see whether or not these proposed changes are approved.
