NFL Wants More Talks With Players’ Union

NFL labor negotiations seemed to get back on track Wednesday when the 28 owners sent a clear message that they wanted a negotiated contract, not one imposed by the courts.

“We’ve made progress today well beyond yesterday in terms of consensus,” Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said after 10 hours of meetings involving all 28 teams.

Sessions began with high hopes for a labor agreement based on a framework that would bring free agency and a salary cap to pro football for the first time.

But Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning, the seven-member owners’ negotiations committee failed to reach a consensus, and some seemed content to go back to court.

Briefly, a unilateral plan was discussed.

But the owners told the committee members they preferred a negotiated settlement instead of one dictated by Judge David Doty, who is overseeing the talks and must make the final decision.

Tagliabue indicated that he would be in touch with Jim Quinn, lead attorney in numerous free-agency court cases and the players’ chief negotiator, by today and said that Quinn had told him he had a few changes he would like to make.

But Quinn continued to insist that the plan the players had put on the table was their final offer.