The NFL told club executives they could be schooled in the ins and outs of the new labor contract as early as Thursday, and the players’ association summoned its leadership for a potential vote — the strongest signs yet the lockout might be nearing an end.

Lawyers for both sides met 8 1/2 hours Monday in New York, including 31/2 with a court-appointed mediator, to try to close a deal to resolve the sport’s first work stoppage since 1987. Talks were scheduled to continue today.

“Making progress,” said NFL Players Association outside counsel Jeffrey Kessler, who also represents locked-out NBA players.

Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA head DeMaurice Smith spoke to each other on the telephone Monday and planned to stay in regular contact.

“Nobody cheers for you at Mile 25 of a marathon. You still have to cross the finish line,” NFLPA spokesman George Atallah said in Washington. “There still are things that can get you tripped up, and we’re going to push through.”

Owners are set to hold a special meeting in Atlanta on Thursday, when they could ratify a new agreement — if there is one. Executives from all 32 teams then would be briefed there Thursday and Friday on how the terms would affect league business, two people familiar with the plan told The Associated Press.

The people said the clubs were told Monday that topics would include the 2011 NFL calendar, rookie salary system and guidelines for player transactions. They spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the process is supposed to remain confidential.

Any tentative agreement also must be approved by the players, of course, including Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees and the other plaintiffs in a federal antitrust suit against the league.

Members of the NFLPA executive committee and representatives of every team were heading to Washington by Wednesday, in preparation for possible decisions on re-establishing a union and signing off on a tentative pact with owners.

Atallah said the players would be gathering “with the hope they have something to look at, and with the hope we can move forward on this.”