2011 NFL lockout

The 2011 National Football League lockout was a lockout that lasted from March 11 to July 25. It occurred primarily during the offseason for 18 weeks and 4 days. Although it initially threatened to postpone or cancel the 2011 season, the only game that was called off was the August 7 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game because of the insufficient time the teams had to prepare for that contest after the lockout ended.

Background

The NFL owners unanimously voted in 2008 not to continue with the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) following the 2010 season, after previously voting to extend it in 2006.^[1] That last labor agreement gave players 57 percent of the league’s $9 billion in revenue, after the owners took $1 billion for growth and development of the league.^[2] A major reason for opting out was that the owners wanted a better deal to help pay for investments they had made on new stadiums and other expenditures. Part of the previous CBA involved a transfer of revenues from the higher earning teams to the lowest, even though some of the higher earners also had higher costs. Players were very skeptical that the owners were losing money as a result of their payments to players, and believed the pay dispute was deliberately generated by some owners in order to renegotiate their own revenue sharing agreements which were attached to the CBA. The players resisted any pay cuts across the board.^[1]

As bargaining chips, the owners proposed to extend the regular season from 16 to 18 games, establish a rookie wage scale and/or rookie salary cap that would limit first-round draft pick compensation to 40% of the current level,^[3] begin routine testing for human growth hormone,^[4] and implement other health and safety issues. But the players were concerned that these health and safety proposals would be offset by the potential injuries that might occur during those two extra games.^[5]

Anticipating a lockout initiated by the owners if no deal were made, a number of players voted in Fall 2010 to agree to decertify the union, which would expose the owners to potential antitrust lawsuits.^[5] However, the players would then lose the ability to collectively bargain with the owners.^[6] The league is also exempted from most facets of antitrust laws as a result of Public Law 89-800, passed in the wake of the AFL–NFL merger in 1970, complicating any potential lawsuit against the league. The players union hired firms to lobby members of the U.S. Congress on their behalf, claiming that a work stoppage could potentially cost each NFL city $160 million in lost business, a figure that the league owners claimed was inflated.^[7] Some congressmen indicated a willingness to intervene if necessary.^[4]

Lockout

Just before the CBA expired on March 3, both the players and the league owners agreed to extend the negotiations by one week.^[8] However, talks eventually broke down, and on March 11, the union formally decertified,^[9] after which a group of ten players filed an antitrust lawsuit against the league. (The players involved were Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts, Tom Brady and Logan Mankins of the New England Patriots, Vincent Jackson of the San Diego Chargers, Ben Leber and Brian Robison of the Minnesota Vikings, Von Miller who was drafted by the Denver Broncos with the second pick overall, Osi Umenyiora of the New York Giants, Mike Vrabel of the Kansas City Chiefs, Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints as well as several former NFL players including Priest Holmes of the Kansas City Chiefs.^[10]) In response to the decertification, the league officially locked out the players.^[11][12] On July 5, 2011, a group of retired NFL players led by Carl Eller, Franco Harris, Marcus Allen and Paul Krause filed its own class-action lawsuit against both the NFL and NFLPA, stating that the decertification disqualified the NFLPA from bargaining on the former NFL players' behalf.^[13]

On July 6, 2011, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman opened an investigation into the league for possible violations of New York State's antitrust law, the Donnelly Act.^[14]

This was only the second time in which a labor dispute affected the preseason. The other was during the 1974 NFL season, in which the College All-Star Game was canceled due to the threat of a work stoppage; an agreement was struck shortly thereafter, and the rest of the preseason, beginning with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, was unaffected. The 1982 and 1987 strikes began after the regular season was already underway. The 2011 lockout was the longest in the NFL's history; however, because the majority of it was imposed during the offseason, it had much less of an effect than shorter strikes in 1982 NFL season and 1987 NFL season, both of which led to more canceled games.

Court rulings

On April 25, 2011, U.S. District Court judge Susan Richard Nelson invalidated the lockout and ordered the league to resume operations. The league asked Nelson to stay the order while it appealed to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals; Nelson refused.^[15] The NFLPA advised players to arrive at their teams' stadiums for work uninvited; most teams allowed players to enter the front office but refused further access.^[16] The order to resume operations without any CBA in place left the league in "chaos" because, without a CBA, there were no rules in place regarding a salary cap or floor, free agency, and similar labor-related issues.^[16] On April 29, 2011, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the league a temporary stay of Nelson's ruling; the league reinstated the lockout following Day 2 of the draft.^[17] The stay was extended through at least June 3, when a full appeal was heard;^[18] the Eighth Circuit vacated Nelson's ruling on July 8, affirming the legitimacy of the lockout.^[19]

Contingency plans

A provision in the CBA ensured that the 2011 NFL Draft was allowed to take place despite the lockout.^[5] In addition, there was also some cushion in the schedule just in case the labor dispute lasted into September and the planned start of the regular season. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell stated that Super Bowl XLVI could be moved a week later if needed, so that the entire season could be played in full.^[20] In addition, every contest in Week 3 had teams which shared the same bye week later in the season, which would have allowed these games to be made up on what were originally the teams' byes. Weeks 2 and 4 were set up so that there were neither any divisional rivalry games nor teams on bye in those weeks, which would have kept the season as fair as possible if those games had to be canceled.^[21] The league could also have eliminated the normal off week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl.^[21] All in all, up to six weeks of the season could have been lost (moving week 3 games into the bye weeks, canceling weeks 2, 4, and 17, and moving weeks 1 and 5 to the end of the season while postponing the playoffs one week) while still keeping a generally fair schedule with five division games and eight non-division games. The league also had a plan for a longer stoppage, which included an abbreviated eight-game season beginning in late November.^[22]

Goodell had stated that the league did not consider using replacement players.^[23][24]

End of lockout

The NFL owners announced on July 21 that it had approved a new collective bargaining agreement by a 31–0–1 margin (the Oakland Raiders abstained). The players association's executive board approved the new CBA on July 25, with the players voting to ratify it on August 4.^[25] NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith signed the agreement the next day, ending the lockout.^[26]

Cancellations

The two teams involved in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game had set a deadline of July 22, 2011 for both sides to ratify a deal in time for training camp to be opened and the game to be played (under normal circumstances, each team opens training camp 15 days before their first preseason game).^[27] When that day passed without both sides agreeing to a deal, the league canceled the game, ^{[28][29][30][31][32]} thus the HOF cancellation was the only on-field casualty of the lockout.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Silver, Michael (2010-09-08). "Fans’ guide to NFL labor battle". Yahoo! Sports. http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ms-laborquestions090810. Retrieved 2010-12-21. 
2. ^ "NFL's Goodell Says Labor Dispute Already Affecting League Income". Bloomberg. 2010-10-29. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-29/nfl-s-goodell-says-labor-dispute-already-affecting-league-income.html. Retrieved 2010-12-21. 
3. ^ Wilner, Barry (2011-04-13). NFL's rookie pitch: divert 300M from 1st rounders. Associated Press. Retrieved 2011-04-13.
4. ^ ^{a b} Fendrich, Howard (2011-04-04). Goodell wants HGH tests in next NFL labor deal. Associated Press. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
5. ^ ^{a b c} Maske, Mark (2010-12-15). "Time is short for NFL, players". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/14/AR2010121407094.html. Retrieved 2010-12-21. 
6. ^ Battista, Judy (2010-09-11). "NFL Players Union to Vote on Decertification". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/sports/football/12nfl.html. Retrieved 2010-12-24. 
7. ^ Eggen, Dan (2011-01-16). "NFL labor dispute heads to a new gridiron: Halls of Congress". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/15/AR2011011502945.html. Retrieved 2011-01-16. 
8. ^ Trotter, Jim (2011-03-04). "NFL, NFLPA agree to seven-day extension in labor negotiations". SI.com. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/jim_trotter/03/04/NFL.labor/index.html. Retrieved 2011-03-12. 
9. ^ Trotter, Jim (2011-03-11). "NFLPA files to decertify as a union". SI.com. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/football/nfl/03/11/union-labor/index.html. Retrieved 2011-03-12. 
10. ^ Farmer, Sam (2011-03-11). "NFL players' union decertifies; owners institute lockout". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-nfl-labor-20110312,0,7215609.column. Retrieved 2011-03-12. 
11. ^ "NFL locks out players, who file suit". ESPN. 2011-03-12. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6205936. Retrieved 2011-03-12. ^{[dead link]}
12. ^ Maske, Mark; Amy Shipley (12 March 2011). "NFL lockout is now in effect; pro football enters first work stoppage since 1987". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/11/AR2011031107057.html. Retrieved 12 March 2011. 
13. ^ Retired NFL players file complaint. Associated Press. Retrieved 2011-07-05.
14. ^ Spina, Matthew (2011-07-07). Schneiderman opens NFL lockout probe. The Buffalo News. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
15. ^ Leahy, Sean (2011-04-25). "Judge sides with players, tells NFL to end lockout". USA Today. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/thehuddle/post/2011/04/judge-sides-with-players-tells-nfl-to-end-lockout/1. Retrieved 2011-04-25. 
16. ^ ^{a b} Leahy, Sean (2011-04-26). "NFL in 'chaos' as players, league seek clarity in judge's ruling". USA Today. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/thehuddle/post/2011/04/nfl-in-chaos-as-players-league-seek-clarity-in-judges-ruling/1. Retrieved 2011-04-26. 
17. ^ Rosenthal, Gregg (2011-04-29). "NFL officially reinstates lockout". profootballtalk.com. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/04/29/nfl-officially-reinstates-lockout/related. Retrieved 2011-04-30. 
18. ^ Wilson, Allen (2011-05-17). Court deals blow to players. The Buffalo News. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
19. ^ Wilner, Barry (2011-07-08). Appeals court backs lockout, tosses judge's ruling. Associated Press. Retrieved 2011-07-08.
20. ^ "Goodell: Super Bowl could be delayed". Fox Sports. 2011-04-16. http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/NFL-Super-Bowl-could-be-delayed-by-lockout-041511. Retrieved 2011-04-21. 
21. ^ ^{a b} Schefter, Adam (2011-04-21). "NFL schedule could buy three weeks". ESPN. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6404790. Retrieved 2011-04-21. 
22. ^ Roth, Andy (2011-06-07). Report: NFL plans for short season if necessary. WGR. Retrieved 2011-06-08.
23. ^ Howard Fendrich (March 22, 2011). "Goodell: NFL’s CBA offer might not stay on table". Yahoo! Sports. Associated Press. http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AuDaYNoYYH2vI7whjqWV0rhDubYF?slug=ap-ownersmeetings-goodell. Retrieved 2011-03-22. 
24. ^ "NFL lockout: Some questions and answers". Washington Post. 2011-04-13. http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nfl/nfl-lockout-some-questions-and-answers/2011/04/13/AF94JpYD_story.html. Retrieved 2011-04-21. 
25. ^ "NFL players ratify new CBA". ESPN. August 5, 2011. http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/6834391/nfl-players-ratify-collective-bargaining-agreement-which-includes-hgh-testing-sources-say. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
26. ^ "Roger Goodell signs 10-year CBA". ESPN. August 6, 2011. http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/6836275/roger-goodell-nflpa-demaurice-smith-sign-cba-hall-fame-steps. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
27. ^ Paolantonio, Sal (2011-07-06). Hall of Fame Game still on track. ESPN.com. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
28. ^ Associated Press (2011-07-21). Sources: NFL cancels Aug. 7 Hall of Fame Game between Bears, Rams. NFL.com. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
29. ^ Seligman, Andrew (21 July 2011). "NFL Cancels Hall of Fame Game". ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=14130575. Retrieved 22 July 2011. 
30. ^ Biggs, Brad; Vaughn McClure (22 July 2011). "Hall of Fame Game canceled as players mull deal". Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-spt-0722-olivet-bears-chicago--20110722,0,1670359.story. Retrieved 22 July 2011. 
31. ^ "NFL's August 7 Hall of Fame game canceled". MSNBC. 21 July 2011. http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/43848831/ns/sports-player_news/. Retrieved 22 July 2011. 
32. ^ "Hall of Fame Game Canceled; Refunds to Be Issued". Associated Press. July 21, 2011. http://www.fox8.com/sports/wjw-hall-of-fame-game-canceled-txt,0,1759457.story. Retrieved July 22, 2011. 

2011 NFL seasonv · d · e
AFC	East	North	South	West	East	North	South	West	NFC
	Buffalo	Baltimore	Houston	Denver	Dallas	Chicago	Atlanta	Arizona
	Miami	Cincinnati	Indianapolis	Kansas City	NY Giants	Detroit	Carolina	St. Louis
	New England	Cleveland	Jacksonville	Oakland	Philadelphia	Green Bay	New Orleans	San Francisco
	NY Jets	Pittsburgh	Tennessee	San Diego	Washington	Minnesota	Tampa Bay	Seattle
2011 NFL lockout • 2011 NFL Draft • Pro Bowl • Super Bowl XLVI