HGH blood testing part of NFL deal

WASHINGTON - NFL players ratified a new 10-year collective bargaining agreement on Thursday, and two people familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press the contract allows the NFL to become the first major US sports league to use blood testing for human growth hormone in its anti-doping program.

Players eventually would be subject to random testing for HGH, in addition to annual checks - as is the case for all banned substances in the league's drug-testing program - only after the union is confident in the way the testing and appeals process will work.

The aim is to have everything worked out in time to start HGH testing in the first week of the regular season, but that is not guaranteed yet.