Domonique Foxworth (L) of the Baltimore Ravens and Kevin Mawai (C), former player for the Tennessee Titans and current NFL Players Association president, depart with NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith (2nd R) after a day of negotiations with football team owners as they seek an agreement as a deadline looms for a player lockout, in Washington, March 3, 2011. Man at far right is unidentified. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS)
Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports seems to think that if the owners and union can reach an agreement on a one or two week extension in the CBA discussions, then a settlement may be reached “before the end of this month.”
Sources on both sides of the conflict agreed on one basic premise: If enough progress is made that another short-term CBA extension – perhaps a week, perhaps two – is announced by Friday night, the players and owners will almost certainly be headed for a settlement that will result in a multi-year deal before the end of this month.
If not, as one person familiar with the negotiations put it, “It will be Armageddon.” The union will decertify and file a class-action, anti-trust lawsuit against the owners, who’ll issue a legal challenge to the validity of the act while implementing a lockout (or de facto lockout). A long, bitter standoff would likely ensue, and the 2011 season could be threatened.
Something interesting that I’ve noticed is that there seems to be sides developing in the media when it comes to whether or not there be a lengthy lockout. Reporters like ESPN’s Chris Mortensen is of the mind that talks will go on for months, while writers like Silver remain incredibly optimistic. (Silver’s Twitter page reads like a Tony Robbins speech, with one positive outlook after another.)
I remain somewhere in between. When talking to friends about the issue, I’ve often said that there’s too much money on the table for both sides to subject themselves to a lengthy lockout. The NFL is so popular it’s printing money, so why do anything to upset the apple cart?
That said, after speaking with players like Kellen Winslow Jr., DeMarcus Ware and Stanford Routt, I get the impression that they’re very concerned about a lengthy lockout. They understand how real this situation is and how it may last until September. The union is sending them updates on how to seek benefits during a lockout and preparing them for what happens next in the event of no football next season.
But the one positive that has come out of talking with all of those players is that they remain optimistic and thus, so shall I. As a football fan, I hope Silver’s projection is on the money and a deal is reached soon. (Whether that’s before the end of the month or before I get done writing this sentence.)
