After more than a year of fighting and litigation over how the NFL investigates and metes out punishment to its players, league officials and the union are moving closer to a deal that would involve Commissioner Roger Goodell giving up power over off-the-field player discipline, NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith said Monday.

No deal has been reached, significant obstacles remain, and any potential deal will not happen soon, people involved with the matter said. However, Smith said he remains optimistic about an agreement.

“We’ve been talking about changes to the personal conduct policy since October and have traded proposals,” said Smith, as he traveled to the Players Association’s annual meetings in Hawaii. “We looked at the league’s proposal for neutral arbitration. There is a common ground for us to get something done.”

In a statement, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said, “This is an important area that deserves to be addressed thoughtfully and with full consideration for everyone’s interests—players, clubs and fans. We are addressing the subject in a serious way and will continue to discuss this directly with the union and not in the media.”

NFL owners will meet next week in Florida.