Locked Out

The NFL and the NFLPA could not reach an agreement by today's 5p.m. deadline. The NFLPA disbanded, which means that it can sue the NFL under antitrust laws. The players' association even created a mock 404 page for their website to coordinate with the passing deadline.  

To simplify the talks, the owners want an 18-game regular season schedule and the players want the owners to open their books. Two additional regular season games means more money for franchises, but players are weary of extending the regular season because of the toll it would take on the body. Also imagine the difference for young players, who would go from a 12-14 game schedule in college to an 18-22 game schedule in the pros. If the owners were to open the books to the players, they could possibly reveal high revenue, which would lead to a demand for the increasing of players' salaries.

But have no fear, football fans, because the United Football League was created for this exact reason. The UFL debuted in 2009 after years of research by Bill Hambrecht, former minority owner of the Oakland Invaders of the failed USFL, and Tim Armstrong, CEO of AOL. Next season will be a make or break year for the league if the NFL owners lock out the players. The UFL consists of six teams (Florida, Hartford, Sacramento, Las Vegas, Omaha, and Virginia). Key differences between the UFL and the NFL include overtime rules that give both teams possession (this is only true for playoff games in the NFL) and unsportmanlike conduct (tasteful celebrations are permitted in the UFL).

We obviously do not know how far apart the NFL and NFLPA are in their talks, but we can be sure of one thing, the lockout is this year's "Will Favre retire?" So, if you are already tired of this story, I would recommend steering clear of certain sports media outlets for a few months. 

- Jeff Laboon