The Pewter Plank » Lockout

NFL, NFLPA Release Joint Statement

Patrik Nohe — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 16:49:17 +0000

Hopefully football is on the horizon.

After today’s ruling by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis that the NFL lockout was indeed legal (on most levels), the NFL and NFLPA took time out from their negotiation sessions to parse the information and then release a joint statement:

While we respect the court’s decision, today’s ruling does not change our mutual recognition that this matter must be resolved through negotiation. We are committed to our current discussions and reaching a fair agreement that will benefit all parties for years to come, and allow for a full 2011 season.

Hopefully they keep at it and knock this thing out. The court’s ruling, while seemingly a win for the owners, also provides plenty of impetus to get a deal done. As we mentioned earlier, the court ruled locking out players that were under contract was legal, but locking out players without a contract was not. This could really complicate things if a deal isn’t struck soon. Hopefully we get good news soon.

On Further Review…

Patrik Nohe — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:51:50 +0000

And the lockout continues...

The 8th circuit court of appeals issued its ruling this morning in regard to the NFL lockout. Although at first blush it looks like a resounding win for the owners, it actually contains a lot of other opinions and rulings that could potentially act as an impetus for a new deal to get done even more quickly.

There exists in the ruling, a loophole of sorts, that would allow the players to go before Judge Susan Nelson in the event the lockout continues for a protracted period. The players would be entitled to a hearing in which Judge Nelson, a very player-friendly judge who initially ruled to end the lockout, could force teams to have to sign free agents. Essentially what the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals determined was while it is legal for the NFL to lock out players under contract, it’s illegal to lock out players that are not. Mike Florio of PFT (and a lawyer himself) breaks it down:

At pages 33 and 34 of the ruling the Eighth Circuit suggests that Judge Nelson could impose an injunction as it relates to players not under contract (i.e., free agents and rookies). To do so, however, Judge Nelson must conduct a hearing at which testimony and other evidence is introduced. This could lead to a ruling that would require the NFL to negotiate with and sign free agents and rookies, despite the existence of the lockout.

This process would unfold over a period of weeks, and it would make a messy situation even messier. As a practical matter, the prospect of a convoluted and costly court proceeding should be enough to dissuade the owners from trying to drop the hammer on the players in the wake of Friday’s ruling.

This should keep the owners from trying to leverage today’s decision too much. The players would have a very direct recourse should the owners drag their feet and throwing things back into the court system would only delay this process even more and actually start costing the owners considerable revenue. Now, this is hopefully going to inspire the sides to get things done quicker. However, if the sides don’t strike a deal and things get to the point where the players go back to the federal courts in Minneapolis, say goodbye to football in 2011.

Judges Rule NFL Lockout is Legal

Patrik Nohe — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:16:30 +0000

The courts have ruled in favor of the owners on the lockout.

Just as the NFLPA was briefing the plaintiffs involved the antitrust lawsuit about potentially settling the suit in court Friday to allow the finalization of a new CBA, the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals through a wrench into the negotiations on Friday morning. Per a report on ESPN.com:

The appellate court ruled on an April 25 decision by U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson, who put the lockout on hold after players argued they were suffering irreparable harm. The appeals court put that order on hold and its final decision said Nelson ignored federal law in reaching her decision.

The court’s decision came while commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL Players Association chief DeMaurice Smith started a second straight day of negotiations aimed toward resolving the lockout.

This could be meaningless. It’s possible the owners and players, who have been negotiating feverishly to try and finalize a deal before Judge Arthur Boylan (who has been leading negotiations) leaves for vacation tomorrow morning may ignore the ruling and try to finalize a deal. But the flip-side is this strengthens the owners position, and you don’t get to be a billionaire owner of a football team without learning to step on a few necks. If the owners smell blood, look for negotiations to unravel.

A lot is still uncertain at this point, but this ruling comes at a really bad time in the negotiations. My original impression of the court’s decision to take a couple of months to rule was that they wanted the NFL to try and work this out on its own. But that doesn’t exactly mesh with the timing of this ruling. We’ll keep you posted as more develops.