All Encompassing Lockout Thread

[ArlingtonTexan]

She declines to stay her ruling depending on appeal.

Link shortly...NFL network break in

[Ryan]

Per Chris Mortensen on Twitter

Filed to ESPN: Federal Judge Susan Richard Nelson has ruled for players, lifting lockout, per sources. Owners will seek immediate stay.

[PapaL]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6424084

U.S. District Court Judge Susan Richard Nelson has granted NFL players their motion for a preliminary injunction, therefore lifting the lockout that was imposed by owners on March 11, according to league and union sources.

The decision is expected to be posted publicly no later than 6 p.m. ET., sources said.

Neither side had an official reaction, pending the official posting by Judge Nelson but the NFL is expected to immediately request a stay of the ruling until it can make its arguments before the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, which is headquartered in St. Louis but also has an office in St. Paul.

[Jackie Chiles]

Still trying to decipher all of this, do we have free agency right now or are we going to have to wait another week for the appeals court?

[ArlingtonTexan]

Originally Posted by Jackie Chiles

Still trying to decipher all of this, do we have free agency right now or are we going to have to wait another week for the appeals court?

Wait for the court of appeals to rule whether a stay should or should not be granted. This part ususally happens quickly because the judge would feel that a stay would harm the players in an unfair way.

According to those who know the legal process more than me, not granting the stay would mean there is football with the previous rules in place. From the quick analysis that I have heard, stay or no should happen within a calendar week.

[DocBar]

Originally Posted by ArlingtonTexan

Wait for the court of appeals to rule whether a stay should or should not be granted. This part ususally happens quickly because the judge would feel that a stay would harm the players in an unfair way.

According to those who know the legal process more than me, not granting the stay would mean there is football with the previous rules in place. From the quick analysis that I have heard, stay or no should happen within a calendar week.

Free agency and drafts would assume under the orevious agreement. This is good news for all teams right now.

[Mr teX]

Originally Posted by DocBar

Free agency and drafts would assume under the orevious agreement. This is good news for all teams right now.

screw the teams, owners & players....this is good news for the fans.

[PapaL]

I take this to mean there can now be contact between coaching staff and players. Players and Front Offices. Let's see if anyone gets signed in this grace period.

[Rey]

Yeah...What does all of this actually mean?

Are they back to business as usual?

[gary]

Originally Posted by PapaL

I take this to mean there can now be contact between coaching staff and players. Players and Front Offices. Let's see if anyone gets signed in this grace period.

We might have to wait for the final ruling but I am not sure.

[disaacks3]

Originally Posted by PapaL

I take this to mean there can now be contact between coaching staff and players. Players and Front Offices. Let's see if anyone gets signed in this grace period.

Nope, not until the NFL tells them they can. They were prohibited BEFORE the lockout and suits ever happened.

[Rey]

Originally Posted by PapaL

I take this to mean there can now be contact between coaching staff and players. Players and Front Offices. Let's see if anyone gets signed in this grace period.

That would actually tickle me a little bit...

The owners are planning on appealing the lock-out ruling, but they are going to sign off on a FA contract in the meanwhile?

"I'm appealing to basically have all football operations ceased.....buuuut let me sign you real quick"

[hot pickle]

k sorry for being uneducated in this situation.... so if a stay is granted, that means lockout will happen?

and if it is not granted that means we have football again?

[b0ng]

This week could be pretty nuts. Apparently the 8th Circuit is going to rule on the stay Friday. Also known as the 2nd round of the draft.

[axman40]

Good news for the fans at last!

[GP]

Originally Posted by PapaL

I take this to mean there can now be contact between coaching staff and players. Players and Front Offices. Let's see if anyone gets signed in this grace period.

I doubt it.

I would imagine that the agents and players would be hesitant to sign a deal that might be challenged later on (by either the player/agent OR the ownership of the team).

Sign a deal now, in this "grace period," and I think it's possible that the risk is a future unhappiness on either side or maybe both sides...especially if things get whacky and NEW rules are somehow adopted that impact the terms of a deal done prior to the new rules being settled upon.

And there stands a good chance the appeals court could side with the owners.

I don't think this thing is moving along. It just has had a stop at a train station along the way to the final end destination: A new deal that has to be signed by both sides.

Just my 2 cents as I sit here and think about everything.

[PapaL]

Originally Posted by disaacks3

Nope, not until the NFL tells them they can. They were prohibited BEFORE the lockout and suits ever happened.

Maybe I'm crazy, diff thread I'm aware, but I swear there was time before...no wait...FA can't sign until a certain after a certain date. Then again if that date was after the SB...ah hell I don't know.

[PapaL]

Originally Posted by Rey

That would actually tickle me a little bit...

The owners are planning on appealing the lock-out ruling, but they are going to sign off on a FA contract in the meanwhile?

"I'm appealing to basically have all football operations ceased.....buuuut let me sign you real quick"

Wouldn't that be all time awesome? I can see Jerry or Darth Vader in OAK pulling this move. At the end of the day it is a business and screw the opposition right?

[ArlingtonTexan]

Originally Posted by hot pickle

k sorry for being uneducated in this situation.... so if a stay is granted, that means lockout will happen?

and if it is not granted that means we have football again?

A stay menas that the lockout remains during the appeals process, if the is no stay then the NFL will have to operate as normal as possible while the court figure out the legal stuff.

[CloakNNNdagger]

PFT stays up with the details in a series of pieces, and puts forth theories and answers to some question that have been asked here.

Report: Judge Nelson lifts lockout

As expected, a ruling on the players’ motion to lift the lockout came Monday.

As expected, the ruling favors the players.

Chris Mortensen of ESPN reports that Judge Nelson has issued a ruling in favor of the players. The NFL reportedly will seek an immediate stay of the implementation of the decision.

If the stay is granted, the lockout would not be lifted until, at the earliest, after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issues a ruling in the case. The players surely would request expedited consideration of the appeal.

If Judge Nelson refuses to grant the stay, the NFL surely would seek a stay from the appeals court.

If neither court gives the league the stay, the doors will be forced open, soon.

In the short term, it’s good news for the fans. If the ruling stands, the season will occur as scheduled. And maybe folks will even give a crap about the draft.

Meanwhile, if the ruling stands the NFL will at some point have to come up with rules for 2011 regarding free agency and the salary cap, if any. Those rules likely would then be challenged by the players as antitrust violations.
All that said, there could be important exceptions and details and nuances in Judge Nelson’s written ruling. We’re in the process of getting our hands on it. We’ll then break it all down in order to best understand why the decision was reached, whether it will be susceptible to appeal, and what it all means to you (and us), the fans of football.

League will seek a stay of the ruling, and will appeal it

The NFL has responded to the not-surprising-but-still-a-little-jarring decision from Judge Susan Nelson to lift the lockout.

“We will promptly seek a stay from Judge Nelson pending an expedited appeal to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals,” the league says in a statement. “We believe that federal law bars injunctions in labor disputes. We are confident that the Eighth Circuit will agree. But we also believe that this dispute will inevitably end with a collective bargaining agreement, which would be in the best interests of players, clubs and fans. We can reach a fair agreement only if we continue negotiations toward that goal.”

On that last point, the league is right. The reality, however, is that the players now have a lot more leverage, given that (if the ruling stands) negotiations will occur while the players are playing football and getting paid to do so.

If Judge Nelson denies to stay the lifting of the lockout, the league presumably will make the same request of the appeals court.

Judge Nelson sticks up for the fans

At a time when the NFL and the players have said that they care about the fans when in reality they don’t (more accurately, they don’t care enough about the fans to set aside greed and work out the labor dispute), Judge Susan Nelson has acknowledged the impact of the work stoppage on the fans in ending it.

The factors for granting a “preliminary injunction” blocking the lockout include the presence of irreparable harm on the part of the players, a likelihood of success at trial on the legal and factual issues presented by the case, a balancing of the hardships between the players and the owners, and the public interest.

As to the last factor, Judge Nelson recognized that the public needs its football.

“[T]he public ramifications of this dispute exceed the abstract principles of the antitrust laws, as professional football involves many layers of tangible economic impact, ranging from broadcast revenues down to concessions sales,” Judge Nelson writes at page 87 of her 89-page written ruling. “And, of course, the public interest represented by the fans of professional football — who have a strong investment in the 2011 season — is an intangible interest that weighs against the lockout. In short, this particular employment dispute is far from a purely private argument over compensation.”

That’s possibly the most accurate paragraph written by anyone in any capacity regarding this mess — especially since someone finally doing something to advance interests of the fans.

NFL won’t start league year without chance to seek a stay

Judge Susan Nelson has issued an order ending the lockout, without any limitation or delay. The league plans to seek a stay of the ruling.

Until the stay is obtained, the lockout is, in theory, over.

So what if NFL players decide to report to their team facilities on Tuesday for offseason strength and conditioning? Any team that refuses to let the players inside possibly will be in violation of Judge Nelson’s order.

That’s precisely what could happen. “We do not intend to start the league year until we have had an opportunity to seek a stay,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello tells PFT via e-mail.

In other words, if they show up, they’re not getting in.

It seems like a reasonable position. But it’s a calculated risk. The lockout is, until further notice, over. Any team that fails to honor that order could be in trouble.

It’s all moot, unless players show up for work on Tuesday. With hundreds of them under contract for 2011, we can’t imagine that not a single one will try.