The NFLPA still pushing to decertify their union

A number of NFL teams, through their NFLPA player reps have voted to decertify the NFLPA. It is the Union’s last nuclear strike option to prevent the NFL and the owners from locking out the union come 2011. To understand what all of this means we have to sort through a number of complex legal issues. The first being that if the union was decertified, the NFL could not lock it out and many players would still have personal contracts to teams that would still be legally enforceable.

Now the Union is pushing for this now, because the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement allows for only a two week window for the NFLPA to hold a vote to decertify after the current CBA runs out. Of course the other edge of their sword will be to file an anti-trust lawsuit once the NFL and it 32 franchises made rules about which players could sign, and for what price.

Now I am not a lawyer, but in terms of legal precedence the Courts have ruled that the NFL itself can make rules on how and when players can enter their league. In my mind that would also make it ok for the NFL to set a salary cap and restrict player movement once the union went away. It seems reasonable that the NFL itself would use the Maurice Clarett ruling as justification for setting rules for its 32 teams about player signings.

I do not buy the Union’s position that the NFL is really 32 separate business entities. This is a league, and a league can be comprised of any number of franchises and persons of power. I don’t see the courts or the politicians wanting any part of this. In fact several Senators have warned the union to stop lobbying on the players behave. This is an ugly situation, which is further being made uglier by legal action.

Related Links:

•The Business of the NFL
•Joshua Lobdell.com