Advice for Drafting a New NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement

Abstract:     
The article contains language and layout comments and criticisms of the current NFL collective bargaining agreement. The drafters did a few things well, and the article praises them. But there is much to improve: the language and drafting conventions are outdated and second-best in several areas. The agreement contains inconsistencies, archaic language, usage mistakes, punctuation glitches, and unnecessary words. For each concern raised, the article offers a suggestion for improvement. The Exhibits contain three before-and-after examples of rewritten provisions.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 13

Keywords: drafting, collective bargaining agreement, legal drafting, standard English, archaisms, grammar, punctuation, layout, format, numbering, design, ambiguous, provisos, serial comma, future

Accepted Paper Series