NFL Lockout 2011: Owners Walk Away from Talks, Time To Panic?

It seems our worst nightmare is getting closer: The possibility of a lockout in the NFL increased after the team owners walked away from the table on Wednesday, leading to the cancellation of the negotiating session scheduled for this Thursday.

According to a report by ESPN.com that cites player sources, "Owners walked away from the negotiating table Wednesday when the NFL Players Association proposed to take an average of 50 percent of all revenue generated by the league."

The report also mentions other issues on which both sides are far apart, like the rookie wage scale proposed by the owners.

There are no dates for further meetings between the representatives of both sides and an owners meeting scheduled for next Tuesday has also been canceled.

So far, the situation looks really bad from the outside. It seems very clear that there won’t be an agreement before Match 3, the day the current CBA expires, so a lockout seems imminent.

However, it’s not time to panic yet. We as fans want to see an agreement in place as soon as possible so we can avoid the fear of a year with no NFL season, but owners and players just won’t consider fans in their negotiations.

For them, it’s all about getting the best deal for their side, not the fairest deal, so they will fight until the last hour if possible to force the other side to make more concessions. Sacrificing a few weeks—or even months—of the offseason is something both sides are surely ready to do.

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