National Football League owners last night approved a six-year labor agreement with their players, ending the drawn-out anxiety across the league that lasted the past year and spiked the past week.

Thirty minutes after a deadline of 8 p.m. yesterday, the league announced that the 32 club owners had come to an agreement on revenue sharing among themselves, the final and most difficult hurdle of the process. The vote was 30-2 with only Buffalo and Cincinnati voting against it.

The owners -- including Steelers chairman Dan Rooney and president Art Rooney -- met in Dallas the past two days for one last try to accept the NFL Players Association proposal to extend the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Without it, the 2006 league year was to begin today under new salary-cap rules. They also faced more draconian consequences of having an uncapped year in 2007 and the expiration of the CBA in the spring of 2008 and a possible strike or lockout.

Twice the deadline was extended since Friday on agreement between the NFL Players Association and commissioner Paul Tagliabue. Free agency, which was supposed to begin today under the negotiating extension, will start Saturday at 12:01 a.m.

Now what?

The spending limit for teams will be $102 million this year, $7.5 million more than it would have been without a deal, and 20 percent higher than the 2005 figure of $85.5 million. Still, some teams might have to cut players to get under the cap by tomorrow. The cap will increase to $109 million in 2007.

"We want teams to get additional money to re-sign players, rather than cutting them," Mr. Tagliabue said.

The Steelers have 12 unrestricted free agents and two restricted free agents. The extra money could help them sign some of those. If they want to re-sign a key free agent such as wide receiver Antwaan Randle El and/or safety Chris Hope, they will have to compete with other teams flush with more available salary-cap room.

It's a good year to be a free agent because each team's salary cap will rise about $17 million more than it was in 2005, when it was about $85 million.

Gene Upshaw, NFLPA executive director, praised Dan Rooney, long a peacemaker and a facilitator in labor talks, for his role in helping craft the agreement, which runs through 2011, and because he "would not give up."

"On behalf of the players, the NFLPA staff and the negotiating team, we are pleased that this process has finally concluded with an agreement," Mr. Upshaw said in a statement from Hawaii.

"This agreement is not about one side winning or losing. Ultimately, it is about what is best for the players, the owners and the fans of the National Football League. As caretakers of the game, we have acted in the manner the founders intended. While they could not possibly have predicted the economic growth and revenue streams, they clearly saw the structure."

The real debate was between the owners on the important issue of expanded revenue sharing. The owners agreed to give 59.5 percent of their total football revenue to the players under the CBA extension. Previously, the players participated in only part of the league's income, which used to be called "designated gross revenue."

Under the new deal, the bottom 17 teams in revenue won't contribute to the pool, which will be funded with the top five teams contributing the most, the second five less, and the third five less than them.

Still, two of the lowest-revenue teams voted "no."

"I didn't understand it," said Buffalo's Ralph Wilson. "It is a very complicated issue and I didn't believe we should be rushing to vote in 45 minutes. I'm not a dropout ... or maybe I am. I didn't understand it."

That 45 minutes followed a series of daylong caucuses and finally came out of a fusion of plans that Mr. Tagliabue said was forged by nine teams.

One was proposed by the New York Jets and New England, a second by the Steelers and Baltimore. Then, John Mara of the New York Giants, Pat Bowlen of Denver and Jerry Richardson of Carolina met with Mr. Tagliabue and put the ideas together.

Owners Jerry Jones of Dallas and Arthur Blank of Atlanta contributed a little more, and then the Steelers' Rooney, whose son Art was involved in the Pittsburgh plan, joined with Atlanta general manager Rich McKay for additional touches.

That dispute over how to share the local revenue among teams is what nearly prevented a new agreement.

The Steelers are considered in the middle of the pack when it comes to producing local income that previously went unshared. The agreement might have little effect on them because of that. There will be more pressure on all clubs to produce more income. Just because the salary cap rises a little more than $7 million doesn't mean a team such as the Steelers will automatically pick up $7 million in revenue to cover that rise.

The Steelers could raise ticket prices, for example, or charge more for luxury boxes. They also could become more aggressive in pushing local marketing ventures and advertising deals and expanding other opportunities.