As the NFL offseason continues, discussions about the new Collective Bargaining Agreement are gathering steam. While the biggest discussions have been around an 18-game season, there’s a new report that suggests big changes to the contracts of the most important players on any roster across the league. This alteration, as reported by Pro Football Talk, is also inspired by the NBA and its salary structure.

“Noise has already been made about a potential change to the salary cap formula, based on claims of rising expenses that the owners currently bear from their half of the revenue,” NBC Sports’ analyst Mike Florio reported. “There’s another possible wrinkle the league could try to add to the broader labor-management relationship. A cap on the money that any one player can make. It presumably would be similar to the NBA’s approach, with max contracts based on a predetermined formula.”

As per this report, the NFL could look to create an NBA-like salary cap. For the 2025-26 NBA season, the salary cap is set at $154.6 million with a maximum contract starting at 25%, 30%, or 35% of the cap based on years of service, with top-tier (10+ years) salaries beginning over $54 million. These contracts will also include provisions for annual pay increases of 5% to 8% and will last for four or five years.

This new form of a soft salary cap will be a major alteration of the NFL’s existing “harder” salary cap, in which teams have to be below a certain level (not including proration of signing bonuses). This will result in fewer guaranteed contracts and no set maximum contracts, allowing a superstar player to take up a massive and uncapped percentage of the salary cap.

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If these new changes are made to the contract, it could have a major effect on the salaries of superstar players, such as the quarterbacks, who have been the highest-paid players in the NFL. This could cause a major problem for the biggest stars of the league and lead to a major war between the teams and the players’ union.

The salaries for quarterbacks have risen significantly in recent years, with players such as Jordan Love, Trevor Lawrence, Joe Burrow, and Josh Allen signing contracts for around $55 million per year. Dak Prescott has even topped that figure by signing a contract for around $60 million per year, while Patrick Mahomes set the bar for all quarterbacks by signing a 10-year contract for $450 million in 2020.

These are franchise quarterbacks that are expected to bring wins, but not all high-dollar deals have stood the test of time, as players like Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert are commonly included in conversations regarding value versus price tag. This has led to discussions regarding whether a salary cap should be placed on individual contracts, which may stop teams from overspending.

This is a move that will directly affect star players, particularly those at the quarterback position, as they are currently sitting atop the pay scale. It is a move that may create problems for the NFL Players Association as well, as they currently operate on a revenue-sharing system rather than a salary cap system.

Currently, some of the highest-paid players in the league are not highly involved in players’ union activities; however, this may change in a hurry should their earning potential come into play.

The current collective bargaining agreement is set to expire in 2031; however, there is a possibility that negotiations may bring about ideas like an 18-game schedule and more international play. It is a potential salary cap on individual players that is likely to prove to be the most contentious aspect of future negotiations.

If players at the quarterback position were to resist these ideas, potentially striking in response, they may gain a great deal of leverage in negotiations, as they are a crucial part of the game

In fact, former quarterback Chase Daniel warned, “Owners leaking the idea of capping individual player earnings is a DIRECT shot at the position that drives the league…QB. Franchise QBs haven’t needed to be deeply involved w/ the NFLPA, but threaten their earning power & that changes overnight. The league & CBA is built on a negotiated revenue split….not a ceiling on individual value.”

“Now, it’s no longer a free market. If all 32 starting QBs got together and decided they wanted to strike, the leverage flips immediately back to players. Instead of limiting salaries, you’re pushing the split even further in the players’ favor in the negotiations.”

With still four years left in the existing Collective Bargaining Agreement, these changes are reportedly still in an early stage of discussion. But to implement such a significant decision, the NFL must analyze every aspect carefully to ensure smooth sailing between the teams and the union, unlike in the league’s recent set of negotiations with the Referees Association.

Talks between the NFL and the Referees Association broke off within hours

The ongoing labor negotiations between the NFL and the NFL Referees Association have fallen through far more quickly than scheduled this week. The biggest reason behind the difference of opinion has been that both sides failed to make progress toward a new collective bargaining agreement.

As reported by ESPN, the Wednesday and Thursday meetings concluded earlier following Wednesday morning’s discussions. With no resolution found and the NFLRA’s collective bargaining agreement ending on May 31, the league is gearing up to hire replacement officials for the 2026 season.

“We continue to focus on investing in accountability and performance in our officiating,” the NFL said in a statement released Thursday. “[NFLRA executive director] Scott [Green] and his team haven’t changed their approach in almost two years, continuing to demand raises at almost double the rates of the increases realized by the players over the course of this CBA and, in addition, millions of dollars in marketing fees that rank-and-file union members never see.”

As the offseason continues, discussions about an NBA-style salary cap are surfacing, which could alter how the sport’s biggest stars get paid. In the meantime, negotiations with referees have already stalled. Hence, ahead of the 2026 season, the NFL will be tasked with addressing both issues to ensure smooth sailing of the league.