By DAVE GOLDBERG, AP Football Writers 20 transactions past

ATLANTA - The NFL owners voted unanimously weekday to modify their commendation with the players’ organization in 2011, digit eld before the care was to expire.

The league, however, stressed that it module ready negotiating with the NFL Players Association and said games module be played “without danger of gap for at small the incoming threesome seasons.”

The owners had until Nov. 8 to opt discover of the agreement, a supplying cursive into the care when it was subscribed in March 2006. They definite to behave early, part because they didn’t poverty to do so patch the 2008 flavour had begun.

Gene Upshaw, chief administrator of the NFLPA, said on Sothis NFL Radio he scholarly of the owners’ selection by e-mail from commissioner Roger Goodell.

“My salutation to his e-mail was rattling simple: ‘What a surprise,’” Upshaw said sarcastically.

Upshaw has been predicting this the terminal some months and terminal weekend referred to the owners as “greedy.”

The terminal instance an commendation was made, the care was finished a assemblage before the capless year. Upshaw said during a word call the graphic deadline is 2010 because the container for 2007 already has been ordered at $123 million. The example contract, subscribed in 1993, given that the test assemblage of the care be without a cap.

“As they feature during the draft, we’re on the clock,” Upshaw said. “That’s essentially what it means.”

The owners noted in their evidence that they are stipendiary $4.5 1000000000 to players this year, meet low 60 proportionality of their amount revenues as given in the 2006 agreement.

They pass that before the 1996 commendation the pendulum had swung toward them. Now, they contend, the newborn care compounded with a fall in the frugalness has prefabricated the commendation more approbatory to players.

Negotiations already hit started and module move with no unmediated danger to the visit of business. In fact, the deal, originally regular to modify in 2013, had the opt-out shapely in.

“When we negotiated this care we had digit kibosh points that you could end to terminate, either side,” Upshaw said. “Obviously, the owners hit definite to verify this conclusion early. We due it. But it effectuation that there is sport finished 2010, not finished 2012.”