Just more than a week ago, the 2008 National Lacrosse League season was off, lost to the league's inability to reach a collective bargaining agreement with the Professional Lacrosse Players Association.

Last night, after several days of marathon negotiations, the league and union came to terms on a seven-year deal, bringing the season back to life two months before it was to begin.

The agreement, which contains an opt-out clause for each side after the 2012 season, was ratified by the players this morning and the team owners soon thereafter.

"Reaching a long-term collective bargaining agreement with the players was our number one priority in this process," NLL commissioner Jim Jennings said.

"We've been building positive growth in the league over the past few years," Jennings added. "Securing long-term labor peace puts us in a position to take our league to the next level."

So how does a season get cancelled one week and uncancelled the next?

"We were committed to canceling the season, and for all intensive purposes, this season was cancelled," Jennings said. "The owners decided they were going to give it one last ditch effort. So I picked up the phone and talked to [PLPA President] Peter Schmitz, which led to negotiations on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday."

Among the features of the deal are six percent annual increases in the rookie, second-year and veteran minimum salaries, and a five percent yearly rise in the veteran maximum and franchise player salaries.

Some other prominent issues have not been included in the agreement, including resolution of claims that the league owes US$870,000 to the PLPA for player benefits; the dispute will go to arbitration.

One thing that hasn't been decided, and has to be in a hurry, is how exactly the 2008 season will look and what teams will participate -- remember, when the season was cancelled, NLL instructed its member clubs to release their arena dates, and some of those may not be recoverable.

The Boston Blazers decided Tuesday night that, regardless of the outcome of negotiations, they would not play in 2008, opting for an extra year to prepare for their return to the league.

Most of the league's other thirteen teams have issued press releases stating or implying that they will participate in 2008, but the possibility remains that a couple more teams will choose to sit out for a season.

Jennings said that the league will review membership and arena availability this weekend and release a revised schedule possibly as early as next week.