A deal really does have to get done this week
After a tumultuous Thursday that included the threat of union decertification, an apparent move toward a tentative deal and a hastily arranged 24-hour extension of the collective bargaining agreement, owners and NFL Players Association officials regrouped and readied themselves for a Friday that will likely define the immediate future of their thriving business.
Sources on both sides of the conflict agreed on one basic premise: If enough progress is made that another short-term CBA extension – perhaps a week, perhaps two – is announced by Friday night, the players and owners will almost certainly be headed for a settlement that will result in a multi-year deal before the end of this month.
If not, as one person familiar with the negotiations put it, “It will be Armageddon.” The union will decertify and file a class-action, anti-trust lawsuit against the owners, who’ll issue a legal challenge to the validity of the act while implementing a lockout (or de facto lockout). A long, bitter standoff would likely ensue, and the 2011 season could be threatened.
Here’s an interview with Silver
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