Some votes are close. Some are not.
The NFL Referees Association approved the new seven-year Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NFL by an overwhelming vote of 116-4, via Albert Breer of SI.com.
That’s a 96.67-percent “yes” for the new deal. Which is good news for all involved.
The best news is that the league and the NFLRA ditched the propaganda (the NFL at one point had shifted to overdrive in this regard) and did what was right for the game, in the short term and over the long haul.
The game is bigger than anyone connected to it. The game will endure. The current stewards of the game, all of whom are handsomely compensated, have an overriding obligation to make decisions not in their own interests but in the interests of the game.
It looked shaky for a while. The league, at times, seemed to be hell-bent on a sequel to Fail Mary. Thankfully, cooler heads and rationality prevailed.
That’s a win for both sides. And for everyone else who cares about the game.
