Player Lockout Troubling the NFL

By Gabriela Moore
Feb 5 2011

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced this morning that he plans extensive negotiations with all club owners to prevent a possible player lockout in the 2011 NFL season.

At this point the club owners want increased payments, better salary requirements and more control over the teams that they own. The NFL is not willing to give in so easily though and they are battling for extended control over the teams.

The group of team owners that has banded together say that they will lockout the players starting in spring training if there is not some kind of resolution to the issue. If the players are locked out then no salaries will be paid and no games will be played until the matter is resolved.

Nonetheless, there has been no forward movement during the early negotiations. Most of the team owners are stuck fast to their position and the NFL leaders are not budging either. This means that most of the time that is spent at the bargaining table is simply wasted.

This has worried a lot of players who are looking forward to starting the new season. Of the concerns on the table, the new 18 game schedule is probably the hottest topic on record.

The team owners want to be able to pay their players the same amount for the new schedule as they would the older version. However, the players union is stating that more money will have to be paid and the owners want the NFL leaders to block that decision.