We've got over 24 hours until the expiration date of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NFL owners and NFL Players Association. The current climate outlook isn't great if your goal is a new CBA. Various reporters are on the ground in Washington D.C. indicating that the most likely scenario at this point is the union decertifying on Thursday, before the midnight deadline, and an NFL lockout to follow.
Here are a series of tweets from Don Banks of SI.com on the situation:
Whatever is minutely shy of being a fait accompli, that's what union decertification and league lockout plans are at this late date. This owners meeting will effectively end tonight, it appears, and union will likely move to decertify Thursday afternoon. Lockout to follow.
It's actually happening.
Since the NFLPA has to decertify before the deadline, they will apparently make the first move, if decertification is the route they go.
We were hoping there was a chance of the current deal being extended in order to give both sides time. At this point, that seems unlikely. We're pretty close to entering a world where the NFL decision makers will be lawyers.