my uneducated opinion is: There will not be a lockout.

[MHS831]

Lock out begins at 12:01 am on 3-4, doesn't require a loss of games.

Where have you seen the lockout begins on 3/4? The CBA expires then, but I have not heard they were locking out players then.

[riddel]

Where have you seen the lockout begins on 3/4? The CBA expires then, but I have not heard they were locking out players then.

It's assumed. The owners very well may not lock the players out on that date, but the fact that they have threatened it for the last 2 years, makes everyone believe that it will begin once the CBA expires.

Operating without a contract could be dangerous for all parties involved. I believe the owners are smart enough to force a strike, so I don't believe the March 4 date means much as long as the new CBA is in place by that date. The players will obviously reject the new CBA and be forced to strike. I don't see how a lockout would benefit the owners, unless they believe that forcing a CBA through without the players approval would open the door to a lack of good faith bargaining, which would give the players a day in court.

Listening to Goodell schooling the players during the presser was pretty telling. The players really do need better representation. I don't believe they even understand the steps involved in the collective bargaining process. They're all standing around waiting for someone to say hike.....

[Highlandfire]

My argument for a title change. I hate that poo it annoys the fug out of me. Why not add "my uneducated opinion is:" in front of the title? Cause no one would care. Add it to another thread or at the very least post it in the NFL and stop posting for attention is so damn annoying. Or maybe even do some research and give us more than a 'contract of 4 bil' that in reality is probably thousands of pages long and you have no idea what is in that contract.

Dammit Fiz come back.

I can't put into words how patheic you are. You really let a single thread title or post cause you to get so torqued you had to write an essay? LMAO. I had a lot more to say to correct your stupidity but then I would be getting drawn into your pathetic world.

[Highlandfire]

Did this really deserve a new thread? It couldn't have been put in any of the other 50 threads about the lockout on the first two pages?

Did you really have to read it? Did you really have to respond and whine? Funny thing about message boards like this... you can always ignore posts or posters. Try it, you might be less frustrated.

[Darth Bobo]

The NFL obviously arrives to the discussion table with what the general public understands is the publicized list of demands.

But the owners have a second list of expectations that are their fall back demands, these are the make or break components of any CBA. They will start negotiation with the former list of demands, then "compromise" down to the list of demands that they deemed in private are essential.

One thing seems clear enough to me. The owners want to:

1) Make more money on TV by extending the season to 18 games.

OR

2) Force the players to take a pay cut, so that they effectively make more money.

As I see it, either one or the other is going to happen. However, it seems really unlikely to me that the NFLPA have majority player support for either until the lockout begins posing real career threats to high profile players. That threat grows as time passes, but today it is still insignificant.

The owners hand is strengthened by the expiration of the current CBA, because they can rely on the TV income insurance money, they generate their own TV revenues (NFL Network) and they can continue to sell memorabilia. The players meanwhile lose their healthcare benefits. Therefor, it seems reasonable to me that the ideal situation for owners would be a scenario where their negotiating power is at its zenith. that would mean that a lockout occurs, and then is swiftly concluded with a new CBA shortly thereafter that provides owners with their true objectives(not the ones we see in public).

As a Panther fan, I feel we have the most to gain by a situation that creates a free agency which contradicts and punishes the excessive spending of the uncapped year. I would prefer to see the cap return as a smaller figure, rather than see an 18 games season. The first case would flood the market with free agents (good for us). The latter would allow teams to retain their uncapped year free agent signings, but would provide more money to all owners. In this case, we might have all the cap money to go on a shopping spree, but slim pickings of a free agency in which to spend that money.

[Lumps]

I can't put into words how patheic you are. You really let a single thread title or post cause you to get so torqued you had to write an essay? LMAO. I had a lot more to say to correct your stupidity but then I would be getting drawn into your pathetic world.

The pathetic world of copy and paste?

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-difference-between-fact-and-opinion.htm

http://www.differencebetween.net/language/difference-between-fact-and-opinion/

No harm feelings bro, your title has been fixed for accuracy, continue