National Football League owners voted in favor of a settlement with the players yesterday during league meetings in Atlanta. While this development gets us tantalizingly close to the end of the nearly five month lockout, one very large detail remains.

The players need to approve the settlement as well, which they were in no position to do last night.

Owners seem to be counting on a wave of public excitement generated by reports that they had agreed on the proposal to put pressure on the players to rubber stamp the deal. However, the players did not even receive a full proposal for review until mid-way through an evening conference call being held by player representatives. The call ended without a vote or even a recommendation.

Some players expressed frustration on Twitter that the owners had tried to "pull a fast one" by giving the players a "take it or leave it" proposition with terms that had not even been negotiated. While I'm sympathetic to that view, I find it incredibly hard to believe that Roger Goodell spent the better part of the last two days on the phone with DeMaurice Smith (which he has) as some sort of elaborate ploy to trick Smith and the players side. It's no coincidence that the owners finally voted after just such a call.

The players need a day, maybe even two or three, to work through a nearly 500 page document? That is more than understandable. The players also point out that yesterday, July 21st, was never part of their "timeline" but was a date pushed by the owners due to the scheduled league meeting. They have no obligation to adhere to any timeline but their own.