NFL and players union continue to close financial gap

The $1 billion a year NFL owners wanted is now down to $700 million, according to Pro Football Talk.

That’s an encouraging development as the 5 p.m. Friday deadline approaches on the current extension between the league and the NFL Players Association. Things were looking bad Wednesday, when NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith told Sports Illustrated that an 18-game schedule was off the table, as far as he was concerned.

Meanwhile, CBS is reporting that some owners are willing to fully open their books but others are not. A partial look, in my opinion, probably won’t suffice.

Opening up the proverbial books is a complicated issue, and both sides have valid points for their current positions. The NFLPA wants proof for why owners want $1 billion a year. And owners don’t want to reveal all of their numbers, including ones that could be scrutinized by employees, fans and even government agencies, including the IRS.

I’m posted up outside the Federal Mediation building in D.C. I will Tweet (@skjensen) and blog updates.