The negotiations between the NFL and the players’ union went down to the wire and then past it:
A week of extended negotiations between the National Football League and the NFL Players Association have failed to produce a new labor contract.
The team owners have threatened to lock out the players — a move that could affect the scheduled start of the season this coming fall. There is even a chance that the entire season could be lost. Although most experts see that as unlikely, rating agency Standard & Poor’s has said it believes the owners have the financial wherewithal to go a full year without games being played.
With the failure of the talks, the union immediately moved to decertify itself Friday afternoon. That opened the door for a antitrust lawsuit against the league by some of the union’s star players, including quarterbacks Drew Brees, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
The players hope to win their arguments in court rather than at the negotiating table. But now that there is no longer a union to negotiate with the owners, resuming talks and reaching a new agreement are much more problematic.
