The one-year deal, which has a no-strike, no-lockout clause, ends a walkout against the NLL that began on Dec. 6.

The strike by the Professional Lacrosse Players Association idled the training camps of the 10 NLL teams, including the Wings.

A disruption of the season could well have crippled the indoor lacrosse league's ambitious plans for expanding its fan base.

"It's a weight lifted off everyone's shoulders," Wings forward Jake Bergey said yesterday.

Assuring that the season would proceed was "the main focus of the agreement," NLL commissioner Jim Jennings said.

Jennings also said he hopes that the contract will give the league and players sufficient time to negotiate a five-year deal. �The agreement to play this season under the prior Collective Bargaining Agreement addresses the short term. We remain committed to reaching a long term labor agreement to ensure labor peace for several years to come,� added Jennings. �We look forward to continuing our negotiations and reaching the long term agreement that will benefit all parties moving forward.�

PLPA president Peter Schmitz said the union, which resisted the league's proposal for a seven-year contract this time, is not against a long-term deal, if it allows for the contract to be reopened in the event that conditions change.

The new contract retains most of the elements of the collective bargaining agreement that expired on July 31, but with several changes.

The most important alteration requires that players be paid their full salary whether they dress for a game or not; under the previous agreement, players who did not dress were not paid as much as players who did.

Under the new contract, players will not be paid separately for practices, as they had been under the previous agreement. Players can compensate by negotiating a higher salary in their individual contracts, Schmitz said. The average NLL player makes about $12,000 for the 16-game season.

The season is scheduled to begin on Dec. 26, when the Arizona Sting hosts the Vancouver Ravens. The Wings open their season on Dec. 27 against the Knighthawks in Rochester, N.Y.