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Nelson ordered the two sides into mediation while she considered the request and they met with Boylan following 16 days of failed talks in front of a federal mediator in Washington.
"I think you can't sort of measure this like a stock table in what's going up or down on any given day but it's always a positive to be able to talk to people," Pash said.
Pash said he felt the talks were particularly productive between the league and retired players, and that the owners remain committed to improving benefits and taking care of their former players.
The league and players disagree sharply on how to divide more than $9 billion in annual revenue.
The owners initially wanted to double the money they get off the top for expenses from about $1 billion to about $2 billion, but that number dropped during the first round of mediation. The players have insisted on full financial disclosure from all 32 teams, and so far the league has not opened the books to their liking.
Other major issues include benefits for retired players and the NFL's desire to stretch the regular season from 16 to 18 games. The NFL also wants to cut almost 60 percent of guaranteed pay for first-round draft picks, lock them in for five years and divert the savings to veterans' salaries and benefits.
More than $525 million went to first-rounders in guaranteed payments in 2010. The league wants to decrease that figure by $300 million, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.
In other news, the Sports Business Journal reported Wednesday that a group of about 70 "mid-tier" players was considering hiring a law firm and upset that the talks broke off last month. But Clobes said the number is "nowhere near 70" and that it does not indicate any dissatisfaction with the way things are progressing.
"The players have extremely capable counsel," Clobes said. "If we were to get involved, it would be so we could add and lend our expertise, not because we thought the current lawyers were not doing a credible job. They're doing an incredible job."
Cafferty Faucher also is representing clients in former UCLA basketball star Ed O'Bannon's class-action lawsuit against the NCAA for selling the use of his and other athletes' likeness in video games and other media.
DeMaurice Smith, the head of the players' trade association, said he was unaware of the development. Vrabel said he had not heard of the report, either, but the additional players "do have a seat (at the table), with Ben and me."
[Associated Press;
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