Roger Goodell is encouraged the NFL has begun talks with the union on a new collective bargaining agreement.

The current deal expires in 2021. The NFL reached the agreement in 2011 after an offseason lockout.

“The bottom line is we do have a CBA in place for close to eight years and it has worked very well for players, clubs, fans and the game,” he told SiriusXM NFL Radio. “These discussions are happening and hopefully we will get to a place where we can extend the deal in some format.

“When you have dialogue and understand each other and listen to each other, it’s ‘OK, how can we use this to have a better league?’ Our league is better when we listen to opposing views.”