NFLPA Decertifies: Players Walk Out, Owners Lock Out No Reason to Freak Out

March 11, 2011   ·   John Durst   ·   Jump to comments

No agreement between the NFLPA and the NFL owners could be reached by today's 5 pm deadline, and NFLPA chairman DeMaurice Smith's demands of ten years of audited financial records from the owners was not met for an extension in labor talks. That means that shortly after 5 pm ET on Friday March 11, the players union decertified, leaving the players to fend for themselves for the first time since 1993.
Unfortunately, the battle billed millionaires vs. billionaires could not be won by either side. This means that now, the individual players can bring antitrust suits against the owners, but no collective bargaining can be pursued anymore since there is no collective players union anymore.
Both sides will point fingers at each other as to whose fault this impasse was, but no matter who's to blame, this conflict will now almost definitely be settled in court rather than in private. The players are no longer afforded the council of a players union or the unification of said union. T...

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