There is still time to rescue the 2011 NFL season but the impact of the formal work stoppage will be felt
And so inevitably, depressingly, here we are. Three years after the NFL's team owners voted unanimously to opt out of their existing collective bargaining agreement with the players, the league now formally has a work stoppage. The CBA had been set to end on 4 March, but a series of extensions to allow further negotiations brought fresh hope that a deal could still be done. That was dashed last night when the players abandoned the discussions. The CBA formally expired at midnight, at which point the players were locked out by the league.
Is this the end, then, for hopes of an NFL season in 2011? Not a chance. Some might even contend that this is merely the beginning of negotiations in earnest. The NFL Players Association immediately confirmed that it would decertify, as it had suggested it would, abandoning its legal status as a union to become a trade association. That will allow the players, no longer represented by a union, to pursue individual lawsuits against the league should they choose.
Immediately 10 players, including the quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning ? two of the NFL most high profile stars, having won the league's Most Valuable Player award six times between them ? launched an antitrust suit against the league. Their claim, which could run to hundreds of millions of dollars, accuses the league of restraint-of-trade, citing policies on the draft, free agency and the salary cap.
But this has always been the players' trump card. Where the owners had a stronger financial position ? with money in the bank and TV deals already done that will pay them billions of dollars next season even if not games are played ? the players' greatest hope always lay with the courts. The NFLPA has decertified before ? in 1989 ? and the lawsuits brought by players on that occasion paved the way for the creation of free agency in 1993.
Indeed, there are those who believe that the players always intended to take this route. The financial details of negotiations are fully explored elsewhere but in essence the owners are seeking to significantly reduce the share of league revenues that goes on player salaries. The NFLPA has maintained throughout this process that they would not consider this without seeing full details of the team's accounts. The owners have thus far refused to do so. This may be the only hope the players have left of forcing their hand.
There is still plenty of time to rescue the 2011 season but the impact of this latest development will be felt. Free agency would normally start this month, as would offseason training at teams' facilities, but neither can go ahead. Although the collegiate draft will take place as normal next month, without a new CBA no teams will be able to sign the players they pick. What happens next is anyone's guess, though CNBC's Darren Rovell probably said it best when he Tweeted yesterday that "No matter what any1 says tonight, this much is clear THERE ARE NO WINNERS".
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