Court Solidifies Lockout, Negotiations Intensify

The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals finally ruled today in the NFL’s request for a stay on Judge Susan Nelson’s decision to end the lockout last month. In short, the lockout is now in full effect.

After delaying their decision for close to three weeks, the three-member 8th Circuit panel decided today that Nelson’s ruling against the lockout was invalid, and the league’s decision to lock out players is entirely legal. It came as a serious blow to the players, who were hoping the NFL’s appeal would be defeated and the court would force the league to open it’s doors and allow free agency and club transactions to continue as normal, even without the creation of a new CBA. The appeal case, which is slated to begin on June 3rd, is now essentially irrelevant, as the same three-member panel who sided with the owners today will be hearing the case in two weeks, and their decision is not expected to change between now and then.

The possibility of a victory in the appeals case was the only leverage the players had against owners in the ongoing labor negotiations. Now that they’ve been shot down in court, the players will have little choice but to return to the mediation room and hammer out a deal.

Which, according to ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio, is exactly what they’ve done. Today marked the second day of a two-day court-mandated negotiation session between the NFL and its players, which until about an hour ago had been as strained and unproductive as all negotiations before it. In the wake of today’s verdict, however, representatives from both sides agreed to extend today’s labor talks into this evening. Paolantonio said the owners are currently preparing a new offer for the players, and that negotiations will resume early tomorrow morning.

This, by far, is the most significant movement we’ve seen on the labor front since the CBA expired in late March. If DeMaurice Smith and the player representatives are realistic enough to understand they’ve been beaten in court – and I think they are – we may be closer than anyone thought to a monumental breakthrough in negotiations. The outcome, of course, will depend entirely on the owners’ new offer, but if it’s even slightly better than the last one I would expect the players to sign off on it as soon as possible and put this all behind them once and for all. I never thought I’d say this, but if all the stars align we could be talking trades and rookie free agents as soon as next week. As always, ITI will keep you updated as the situation develops.

Tags: 8th circuit, labor, lockout, negotiations, NFL, owners, players