If the National Football League Players Association decertifies before the end of the business day on Friday and the team owners prepare to lock out the players, a series of legal actions could ensue, paving the way for free agency to start before a new collective bargaining agreement is reached. Sports Illustrated’s Peter King reports that if decertification and a lockout take place, the players would ask Judge David Doty to grant an injunction, which could reinstate the previous labor rules or allow the NFL to create new ones.
NFL Lockout: Free Agency Possible Without New CBA In Place
But there are a number of issues that complicate this scenario. Granting an injunction could take up to a month to happen and then it could take another couple of weeks for the NFL’s appeal to be ruled on. If all of that happens and the appeal is denied, King speculates that free agency and trades could start around the time of the April 28 NFL Draft.
This could all be suspect on Friday night if the two sides agree to another extension to negotiate a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
For lockout news throughout the day Friday, stay tuned to this StoryStream on the subject.
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