NFL labor talks broke off yesterday, three days before the start of free agency, leaving teams and players in a quandary about negotiating new contracts. Although the contract does not expire until after the 2007 season, this is a critical period in the negotiations to extend the 12-year-old agreement. Talks have been going on for more than a year.
See "Free agency unsettled as labor talks halt", Dave Goldberg, The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 28, 2006