The NFL and the NFL Players Association agreed to seven consecutive days of negotiations, a league source told NFL Network insider Albert Breer on Thursday, and the sides also will allow mediation in their labor dispute.
The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, an independent U.S. government agency, will oversee negotiations in Washington D.C., beginning Friday, two weeks before the collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players' union expires.
While negotiations could last seven days, they might go just a few days, sources on both sides cautioned, according to NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora.
The fact that a schedule has been carved out is a positive sign, but the arc of these kinds of talks generally is up and down, and deals are usually struck at the last possible minute.
"It is a day-by-day, hour-by-hour thing," one union source said.
Added a league source: "If nothing is being accomplished, no one, especially (the mediator), wants to waste their time."
Both sides pointed to last week's negotiation breakdown, as well as them being unable to make it through two days of talks without incident, as a sign of what still must be overcome. But returning to the negotiating table and involving a third party provides the potential for gains to be made.
After FMCS held separate discussions with representatives from the league and the union, director George H. Cohen said both sides agreed to have the agency mediate. However, that mediation isn't binding.
Cohen said in a statement that the negotiations will be conducted "under my auspices." He is no stranger to sports mediation. He was involved in Major League Soccer's talks with its players' union, and a work stoppage was avoided last year.
NFL.com news: League, union will negotiate for seven days, allow mediation
