2 years ago they had the ability to reform their CBA and change things during their strike/lockout. Especially of the use of the franchise tag. Here is how the conversation went
NFL Players: We want to get rid of the Fanchise Tag
Owners: We want to increase it from 1 to 2 tags
NFL Players: No way
Owners: Ok, lets meet in the middle and keep it at 1
NFL Players: Deal!
Owners laughing: Fucking idiots.
So basically all teams need to designate their franchise tags by today and players are bitching and moaning about it yet they are the ones that voted to keep it.