Deal Approved; Free Agency Starts Saturday

With the NFL and the players staring yet another self-imposed deadline in the face Wednesday evening, a deal was finally struck that will maintain the labor peace the NFL has enjoyed over the past two decades for another six years beyond the previous deal. NFL owners approved the six-year extension of the collective bargaining agreement by a vote of 30-2, with just the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals voting against it.

Free agency, which has been put off twice by the negotiating process, has been bumped back at least another 48 hours and will start at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. Exact terms of the agreement have not been released yet, but a couple sources are reporting that the salary cap will be boosted from $94.5 million to $102 million for 2006 and $109 million in 2007.