We are not quite there yet;

the NFL lockout is still ongoing and the football year has not started. The entire situation had been laid out as if there were a plan or a deadline, but it appears as though only one side (the owners) was adhering to it.
Fans were led to believe the players would vote on Wednesday, the owners would vote Thursday, and on Friday, the NFL would be back in business.
What actually transpired was the players were not ready to vote on anything Wednesday, the owners voted 31-0 (with the Oakland Raiders abstaining) on court-case settlements and a new collective bargaining agreement on Thursday, and then many were led to believe the players would vote later that night on a conference call.
As it turns out, the players claim they did not have anything to actually vote on. The conference call happened, but it soon became clear by Thursday evening NFL players and owners were still at odds.
There was a feeling of public anger and frustration toward the players when they did not vote, but it appears there may have been new changes to the agreement that the players had not had a chance to delve into. This led to many outbursts from players on Twitter including Redskins DE Vonnie Holliday saying they were “bamboozled.”
Whether or not there were significant changes made or if this was a PR move by the NFL to make the players look bad, public perception appears to be mostly against the players today.
One thing is clear: communication is a problem. Whether that refers to communication between the two sides or the information that is given to the media and public, something is amiss. The coverage this situation was getting gave off a feeling that the NFL was going to begin last night and then, that did not happen.
Placing blame for this is difficult because even the TV anchors and analysts seemed to be surprised when the players did not vote. To paraphrase, one NFL business analyst said that this type of thing does not happen in negotiations.
The good news is that an entire football season appears likely. The NFLPA could vote on Friday, but that is purely a possibility and is not a definite. To get there, the rest of the process will take these three steps by the players: they must vote on a settlement, then they must recertify as a union, and then they can approve a new CBA.
If a deal is ratified today, free agency and training camps will begin on Wednesday, July 27.
Besides the vote from the owners, the other real news is that the Hall of Fame Game has been cancelled. The ceremonies and festivities for induction into the Hall of Fame will still happen, but the Chicago Bears and St. Louis Rams will not play the first preseason game of the year.
As it stands today, everything is in the hands of the players.