In a nutshell

Last season was my first full season of watching NFL. Enjoyed it and would like to see more!
I dont know what this lockout thing is really about, but Ive heard it could impact the season.
What are the chances of the season kicking off in time if at all?
Please enlighten me! Replies are much appreciated.

For a season to be played there needs to be a CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) in place and the last one expired on March 3rd, the league started the lockout as soon as the expiration of the CBA. Whilst in the lockout no players can be traded and no games can be played and the players won't get paid, but the draft will go ahead on the 28th April

At the moment there won't be a season come September, the players have filed an injunction against the league to try and get the lockout lifted and the judge is trying to get both sides to re-enter negotiations and get a new CBA in place before September.

Having said this though if there is no NFL at least we'll still have a College football season to watch.

Not that the college season is much of a carrott for me. I'll be gutted if there's no season.

Having said that, both sides have far too much to lose to let this go on too far. I do believe that after the legal stuff has been ironed out they will get back around the table and sort out an agreement that is fair on both sides.

Thanks for the replies, its made it a bit clearer anyway. Looks like i will just have to be patient then. I do agree that with the amount of money that is made in this sport, surely the two sides will see sense sooner rather than later.
Going to have to find myself a college team to support just in case though, any suggestions?

Dominic Dicoco wrote:Thanks for the replies, its made it a bit clearer anyway. Looks like i will just have to be patient then. I do agree that with the amount of money that is made in this sport, surely the two sides will see sense sooner rather than later.
Going to have to find myself a college team to support just in case though, any suggestions?

What NFL team do you like? Who's your favourite player? Find out which college they played for and go with them.

Some people have more than one because there's literally hundreds, I follow the LSU Tigers (Louisiana State) because they won the first college game I watched against the Florida Gators using a fake field goal on the game winning drive, and I follow Ole Miss because that's where Eli Manning played.

Well i support the Jets. Im going for Iowa because of Shonne Greene and Arkansas Because of Peyton Hillis. Sorted.

Boston College Eagles for me. They're not one of the 'big names', but I live close to the stadium, so they're my local team.

Don't support the Pats though. I think I'm probably the only Cheesehead in Beantown.

I wouldn't watch the Championship if the Premier League was cancelled thats for sure

Brady12 wrote:I wouldn't watch the Championship if the Premier League was cancelled thats for sure

The Championship is more exciting than the Premier League.

College football is great, the fans are more passionate as the rivalries have been going longer than the oldest NFL rivalries.

At the end of the day if there's no NFL then the College season will be the perfect substitute and the quality is just as good because those guys are the future of the NFL.

"I wouldn't watch the Championship if the Premier League was cancelled thats for sure"

Go on, let me guess; you're a Man Utd fan right? What a surprise.

M2M is spot on. College football is fantastic. The atmosphere is incredible, and before you say 'ah but you should go and see an NFL game', I've been to see the Patriots, and to be honest it was far too 'corporate', much like the Prem really.

Manning-to-Manningham wrote:

Brady12 wrote:I wouldn't watch the Championship if the Premier League was cancelled thats for sure

The Championship is more exciting than the Premier League.

Yeah & Beth Ditto is hotter than J Lo

What next the XFL is better than the NFL?...

& yes I am a Manchester United fan & proud of it...

Prem club fans just can't handle that the Championship is more exciting. Far fewer ballet dancers.

In any case, I'm quite keep to start following college football. Favourite players are Ronde Barber and Warren Sapp. So I guess that makes me like Miami and Virginia.

in College I follow the Sooners, as they were the first college team I heard off, after reading the Brian Bosworths book.I also like SMU, and the Nitany Lions from Penn State, who have had the same Head Coach for the last 60years

You don't happen to live in Surrey as well Brady12?

I don't think i'll be able to watch college football, as where i live now i don't have sky. I will rely on Channel 4 to show the matches next season, I recorded all the matches they showed.

Forest-Cardiff earlier this year had a better atmosphere than any PL game I've seen

How can anything be better when the quality is obviously substandard?

Stop being so bitter I live in Manchester x

A bit more detail about the lockout. The owners disliked the previous deal they'd made with the players and they invoked a clause that allowed them to opt out of it early, which they did (ironically, the former head of the union, Gene Upshaw (R.I.P), was accused of selling out and getting a bad deal for the players, but the owners obviously didn't' agree with that assessment).

Anyway, there are several issues: the league wants to add 2 more games, the players don't want to play them fearing an already physically demanding game will result in more injuries. There is a call for better benefits for former players, particularly health care - more and more players are showing up with long-term health issues stemming from their playing days.

But the biggest issue is how to divide up the $9 billion in revenue. Currently, the league gets $1 billion right off the top that goes to operating expenses and then the rest is divided (currently 60/40% in the players' favor). The league wants $2 billion off the top now. The players want the owners to show them their books to see how they're justifying wanting more, but the league is only giving them some documents, so the players cried foul and the CBA expired without any agreement and the owners locked them out, meaning they can't communicate with the team or use facilities to train or rehab injuries. The players' union decertified and became a trade association so technically the players are all individual contractors and supposedly not able to be locked out. The players have filed an injunction to stop the lockout and we're waiting on that ruling which could come in a few weeks.

So, in the mean time, the only thing we've got to look forward to is the NFL draft, but even that is affected because teams would normally be making trades for picks and trading picks, etc. and none of that can go on now.

Its pretty much accepted that the last CBA heavily favored the players