Falcons player rep happy about new CBA deal

ATLANTA - The NFL's players narrowly approved a new collective bargaining agreement with league owners. One of the players happy about the decision was the Atlanta Falcons' player union representative.

"All things considered, I felt like the turnout was good, and I felt like the voice of league was heard," said Falcons long snapper Josh Harris.

The Carrollton High School alum became the team's representative to the NFL Players Association midway through last year. He compared the process of jumping right into CBA negotiations to "drinking out of a fire hose." He attended meetings for player representatives, and did his best to relay the information to his teammates. Leading up to the vote, he talked individually to many players, and held conference calls open to all Falcons players.

"After fielding questions and talking to as many guys as I could, and formulating my own opionions, I felt like this deal was going to be in the best benefit for the majority of the league, and especially our locker room," said Harris. "As our rep, that was my job first and foremost, to be the spokesperson for the guys here in Flowery Branch and to be able to relate any information back to them."

While Harris and a majority of players who voted were in favor of the deal, it was a very close vote, passing by a count of 1,019 to 959. Some players took to social media to express their frustrations, including 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman, who said the owners won the negotiations, "a lot to a little."

Atlanta Falcons long snapper Josh Harris is the team's representative to the NFL Players Association

Former Georgia tight end Benjamin Watson was pleased with the process, noting that "men were engaged. Of that, I am proud."

Among the gains for players were fewer padded practices during training camp, a shortened preseason and a larger share of league revenues. Arguably their biggest concession to owners was a 17th regular season game added to the schedule, which can start as early as the 2021 season.

"There's no really other way around it, 17 games is a lot of games," said Harris. "It's hard enough to stay healthy for 16 games, and so I can see that side of the argument. I was trying to take in both sides as much as I could, and tried to weigh the pros and cons. At the end of the day, for the majority of the league, what we were getting in return for that 17th game, I felt more than made up for it."

Harris said he thinks the current economic climate might have pushed some players to vote "yes," with uncertainty around the coronavirus pandemic making them less interested in weathering a lockout. The long snapper also understands the frustrations of those who were opposed to the new deal.

"Some guys have different opinions, and everybody's entitled to how they feel," said Harris. [I] really just tried to understand the whole picture, and be able to figure out what was going to be best for not just me, but the majority of our locker room and the majority of our league. That turned out to be something that everybody that I talked to wanted and was in favor of."