As we mentioned two months ago when the first offseason delay was announced, there was little to no interest in negotiations through the media, which for National Lacrosse League constituents would of course also mean social media.

As the Lacrosse Classified Podcast started its annual team preview podcasts in the countdown to the season, John Arlotta, owner and GM of the Georgia Swarm, appeared on episode 357 (Sept. 24) and was asked by host Jake Elliott about the negotiations. Arlotta, who has been a part of the league since purchasing the Minnesota Swarm in May 2008, had an optimistic tone in regards to negotiations, but also acknowledged that the process would need to accelerate because time is starting to crunch. The most direct comment to the state of the negotiations mentioned that the two sides are mostly in a place where they acknowledge and accept the needs of each side, but the hold up comes with the means of getting there.

A week later (Oct 1), the tone shifted back towards concern, as Jamie Dawick appeared on the podcast to provide updates as the calendar shifted to October, providing the concerns that the first half of October would be make it or break it time for having a season. Adam Levi pointed out on social media that Dawick’s frustrations extend to other parts of the league than just the NLLPA.

There were two notable player responses to the release of the podcast, both from high-profile veterans:

And then just after 9 pm, pacific time, on Thursday, Elliott posted: Hearing it was an unproductive day at bargaining table from both sides tonight. Could expect to hear some significant news as early as tomorrow.

While we know now that no news did come, we learned a lot about the state of the negotiations, including documents uncovered by Dawson Nielsen of Inside Lacrosse. A proposal from the league was sent on August 28th and then countered by the NLLPA on September 21. On September 30, the PA rejected another offer from the owners, bringing us to here.

Letter to Board of Governors

While the letter’s sender was cropped out of the confidentially watermarked document, first person accounts were provided in the context of Oshawa.

The document begins with acknowledging that the owners are being represented in negotiations by the owners and the board’s committee for labor relations (abbreviated PRC).

• History Refresh Section: The initial meetings started in June with a two day in person meeting in Charlotte, which is where Commissioner Brett Frood resides. The Union’s key priorities were identified as earlier free agency and defined Lacrosse Related Revenue that ensures the players share in league growth (notably mentioning “if and when” there are league profits). The league began negotiations with the core focal points of needing cost certainty to create sustainability of their business model while lessening year over year losses.
  • The author of the letter states “While there are signs of growth through stronger fan engagement and sponsorship, most of our teams remain financially unstable, 85% of our Member teams are losing money.” That 85% would 12/14 (.857142, repeating). Team annual financial losses are regarded as more than $3M “in numerous cases.”
  • “We have stressed in every conversation that cost certainty is essential. This means maintaining both individual and overall salary caps, while reforming or clarifying unmanageable provisions such as ‘missed work’ payments and other categories. Ownership requires the ability to budget responsibly, with year-over-year increases kept at sustainable levels to protect franchise and League stability.”
  • At the June meeting, a hard cap was proposed by the owners in exchange for earlier “and more meaningful” free agency, flexibility for teams to continue employing players locally to expand market presence, with regulated and capped spending, oversight and accountability measures, and protection from unsustainable cost escalation.
• External Pressures: This brief section pointed out the role that the Rochester and Albany instability played in delays for further negotiations during the summer. Of course, the Knighthawks got new owners, while the FireWolves have relocated to Oshawa. What this document confirms for the first time is rumors that circled this year that there was also stability uncertainty out of Philadelphia this summer. The Wings are currently owned by Comcast Spectacor.
  • “negotiations were slowed at times as the Commissioner and many Governors were required to devote substantial time to franchise stability in Philadelphia, Albany, and Rochester.” The letter’s author claims that this “unavoidable reality” did not have empathy displayed by the Union while the efforts “preserved players’ jobs and safeguarded the League.”
• Current State of Negotiations
  • The September 21 counter from the NLLPA is highlighted in the context of its compensation increases, which includes aiming for the veteran max contract (non-franchise tag) from $39k to $50k. The author finds these increases to be “aggressive escalators.”
  • “The Union has only agreed to minor concessions thus far and continues to compare the NLL to leagues like the NFL, NHL, and NBA. We have made it clear that those comparisons are not valid; those leagues have media rights deals generating substantial revenues.”
    • The lack of a media rights deal that provides additional league revenue has been something that has been publicized on multiple occasions throughout the Post-COVID era.
• The author provides their thoughts on the committee’s Good-Faith Efforts amongst their most recent proposal.
  • “[Proposals] now include modest increases in multiple areas, enhanced free agency flexibility, a defined connection to LRR, and auditing rights to the Union.”
  • “This ensures that if revenues grow, through sponsorship, attendance, or a media deal, there is a foundational path for them to benefit. We understand that there are several teams that are uncomfortable with the entire LRR path because of the enormous burden on your accounting teams and the fact that there is no money to share at this time. But we do understand the significance of this area to the Union and know that it is a necessary component to getting a deal done so we thank those teams for their commitment.”
  • The new offer increases the proposed hard cap to $800k, increases rookie salary for 1st round picks, and eliminates QO+ offers. An inclusion of missed work is also highlighted.
    • “We attempted to set equitable, yet responsible limits that allow ownership to budget appropriately while giving the League the runway it needs to become healthy overall.”
• Urgency and Risks Ahead – This is the section that shows the likely hard deadlines for negotiations.
  • Visa processing for cross-border players requires 4-6 weeks, so “Without a deal soon (within a week), training camps – and ultimately games – will need to be cancelled.”
  • Oshawa’s “dates of note”:
    • 10/5 – Deadline to cancel first weekend of November 1/2 (Mandatory Physicals) with a reschedule (if possible) to November 8/9 weekend.
    • 10/10 – Deadline to cancel re-scheduled physicals (if rescheduling was possible) to November 8/9
    • 10/10 – If November 8/9 is cancelled then likely Opening Weekend will be cancelled at same time (Require Training Camp of 3 to 4 weeks).
    • “I assume we will then be cancelling a game per week thereafter”
  • The Commissioner confirmed that we do not have the venue availability to reschedule any games, so back-up scheduling is not an option.
  • The government shutdown is mentioned as another potential obstacle towards the 6 week immigration approval timeline. The author also offers the reminder that Unrestricted Free Agents have not yet signed, so a lot of offseason movement is still coming.

The date of the league’s offer was September 30. A letter was sent by the executive board of the NLLPA to its members dated October 1. The board is as follows: President Zach Currier, Vice President and Executive Director Reid Reinholdt, Treasurer Gee Nash, Secretary John Rosa, and General Counsel Jason Jaros.

Letter to NLLPA

“We have made this clear from the outset: we are not trying to ‘break the bank,’ but we cannot accept an agreement that is regressive. To be direct: what has been put in front of us thus far is not a deal worth considering…The five-year agreement they are proposing represents a significant regression from our expired CBA.”

The letter maintains that “a strike is our absolute last resort.”

“At the heart of the problem is a lack of financial transparency.” While the owners offer appears to allow for the transparency going forward, they have not provided it as part of the negotiations, a situation Christian Del Bianco provided feedback on this afternoon.

If they don't want to show the union the books now when the league isn't profitable across the board why would they show us them once it hopefully becomes profitable. We have great owners that give tons to the sport and great union reps but can't be dealing blind Imo 2/2

— Christian Del Bianco (@cdelbianco35) October 3, 2025

The PA reps compiled the key financial changes between the Expired CBA and the league’s 9/30 proposal. Those are shown below. There is also a cut off bullet for Per Diem changes. The Expired CBA had door-to-door travel coverage with $5 increases, while the owners proposed no increases in this CBA, pointing to the current $80 amount as higher than the National CONUS rate of $68.

Other takeaways from the letter:

• There was a four-month delay in proposals between March 31 to August 8 from the league. For context, the season ended May 24, the Knighthawks new ownership was announced on August 5, and the FireWolves move to Oshawa was announced on August 19.
• The Salary Structure featuring both a hard cap and a max salary without a cap floor would be restrictive.
• Adding caps for off-field employment would stifle league growth. Opportunities such as clinics and school appearances help to market the players and get more interested butts in seats.
• Directly from the letter, “[Gym Reimbursement] isn’t a ‘perk’ — it’s a critical investment in our ability to stay in shape, recover properly, and extend our careers. Massage rehab, training equipment, and gym access aren’t luxuries: they’re necessities.”
  • This along with Missed Work Pay being narrowed feel like the two things that most closely match the “little things” comments from earlier in the post. With the league being part-time, players have to use most of their day job PTO to account for the travel demands of the NLL.
• An opt-out after 3 years was part of the 5 year proposal, but they don’t feel like it is a realistic clause.
  • “The league’s claimed flexibility after Year 3 is essentially meaningless considering the lack of financial transparency. The thresholds – $12 million in broadcast/royalties/licensing/sponsorship revenue, and a 45-75% increase in team revenue-are almost impossible to meet. These conditions make the opt-out little more than window dressing, which means we will be stuck in this CBA for the next 5 easons with no way out.
• The players received 10% of Expansion revenue in the previous CBA. While, reportedly, there are no irons in the expansion fire, removing that possibility of a revenue split would remove one of the key bullets of CBA negotiations at the end of the previous decade before the league expanded from 9 to 15 teams.

Their final conclusion stated as follows: “This is not progress. It is regression. A five-year deal under these terms would suppress player earnings and career growth while stunting the league’s ability to reinvest and expand their footprint. Teams that innovate and grow their markets would be penalized not rewarded. The result would harm not just the players, but the future of the league as a whole.”

Where This Leaves Us

Negotiations will continue this weekend. While we didn’t get the news that some people feared could come on Friday, into Friday night, there were a couple more updates:

Dawson Nielsen reported from a source that NLL players are meeting with their PA reps this weekend. He later added that he spoke to someone who has been in CBA negotiations in other sports that proclaimed “It’s actually a lot closer than most people think.”

Both Jake Elliott and Dan Arestia added a bounce-back towards positivity, with Elliott posting After a tough day yesterday I believe some significant progress was made today. Still a few more hurdles to overcome but the light at the end of the tunnel is visible as both sides work towards a resolution, and Arestia adding I remain optimistic based on what I hear. I’ve had people tell me today the sides are closer than you’d think based on what gets put out in tweets.

So we’ll see what happens this weekend and in the days to follow. The clock is ticking.

(Photo Credit: Buffalo Bandits)

UPDATE: October 4, 3:00 pm

This afternoon, Stephen Stamp and Inside Lacrosse have verified the letters and spoken to Zach Currier and Reid Reinholdt about both their letter and the letter to the Board of Governors revealed to have been authored by Russ Sheppard, the chair of the Players’ Relations Committee (PRC). More can be read here.

Key bullets:

• “We’re negotiating in the dark,” Currier says [on the league only offering to reveal the financial documents after the deal is agreed upon]. “They said in January, negotiate the deal and then we’ll open the books, and they have not since.”
• “The 9% increases [in Salary Cap minimums] apply to the salary floor, which all teams should have no problem meeting, so it won’t affect any of the teams.” Also from the PA.
• The $800k hard cap would be about a 5% pay cut for the Bandits payroll compared to 2024-25, signaling that the payroll for the three-time defending champions was in the range of around $842k.
• On health benefit reimbursements
  • PA: “This is a concession and they have framed it as an ask. There is currently no cap and some players can receive up to $6,000 in reimbursements by submitting receipts for fitness and wellness expenses including gym memberships, personal trainers, massage and other health treatments.”
  • Stamp adds: Currier and Reinholdt note that major leagues, whose ranks the NLL’s stated motto is to join, do not have such reimbursement opportunities because they are unnecessary, since players in the major leagues all live in market and have regular access to the team’s health and wellness facilities and services.
• The article ends with Currier stating: “I think we can get this done. We’re waiting for the owners to get serious. I’m hopeful that cooler heads will prevail.”