"Informal discussions" have begun between the NFL and the players' union about changes to the league's disciplinary system, Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II told The Washington Post.

Any changes to the disciplinary system and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's involvement in the process would be connected to an extension of the NFL's collective bargaining agreement, which currently runs through 2020.

Rooney, who is on the owner's bargaining committee, told the newspaper that formal negotiations have not yet been scheduled.

"No timetable has been discussed. I don't think it will move at a pace where I could see there being anything as far as a resolution this season," he told The Post.

NFL Players Association president Eric Winston went on Twitter on Tuesday to refute that any talks had occurred.

Dear NFL Players, Owners have not made any formal or "informal" proposals to us about personal conduct policy. — Eric Winston (@ericwinston) September 15, 2015

NFLPA executive George Atallah likewise told USA Today Sports in an email that Rooney's comments about discussions taking place was "news to us."

"Instead of owners talking about this to the press in an attempt to make each other think that something is being done, we need the start of real collective bargaining. That is the only way we will resolve what has been a thoroughly embarrassing problem for the NFL," Atallah wrote.

Rooney told the newspaper that Judge Richard M. Berman's ruling that overturned Tom Brady's four-game suspension isn't necessarily the reason for the discussions.

Last week in an interview with ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike show, Goodell said he was open to changing his role in the league's process for player discipline, admitting that it has "become extremely time-consuming."

The NFLPA wants a third-party neutral arbitrator to decide appeals to league discipline, something that Goodell has resisted.

"[The players and union] want some significant changes. They've mentioned what they want to do about arbitration. Obviously if we get into a discussion about extending the collective bargaining agreement, there are a lot of issues that will come up," Rooney told The Post. "The disciplinary process will be a significant part of it. Economics will come up, the economics of the CBA and whether we should tweak anything."

The current 10-year CBA was agreed upon by the NFL and its union on July 25, 2011, ending a 136-day lockout, the longest work stoppage in league history.