NFL Owners, Players Reach Deal to End Lockout (Report)

6:55 AM PDT 7/25/2011 by Georg Szalai

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Matt Sullivan/Getty Images

UPDATED: Players are expected to begin voting on the deal later in the day, and NFL clubs would be able to start signing 2011 draft picks and rookie free agents on Tuesday.

NEW YORK - NFL team owners and players reached an agreement early Monday that led to an end of the lockout.

The meeting with the NFLPA’s executive committee and its board of 32 player representatives voted to recommend settlement.

NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said the vote was unanimous.

Players began voting on the deal later in the day after the NFL Players Association's executive committee evaluated the agreement. Owners approved a proposal last week, but unresolved issues remained to satisfy players. The league's previous labor deal expired in March.

It was the NFL's first work stoppage since 1987 would come to an end.

NFL clubs would be able to start signing 2011 draft picks and rookie free agents on Tuesday, according to the AP. Training camps would open for 10 of the 32 teams on Wednesday, 10 teams on Thursday, another 10 teams on Friday, and the last two teams on Sunday.