The lead negotiating teams for the NFL and NFL Players Association have gathered Tuesday at an undisclosed location in the Washington, D.C., area in an effort to end the 91-day lockout. It's the third consecutive week the sides have met for "secret" talks. Both sides remain guardedly optimistic. Sources characterized the owners and players as being in a "deal-making mode" and hope to make significant progress over the next two or three days, ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen reported. The major topic this week is the percentage that goes to players, a source told ESPN.com's John Clayton. Players have asked for 50 percent of all revenue but are willing to accept $141 million player costs per team, which would equate to roughly 48.5 percent of a $9.3 billion revenue projection. The players have proposed having a "pegged" cap that would have fixed increases. By 2014, a team's player cost would be $161 million. Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6660319
