Decertification: What the "Nuclear Option" Means for NFL Labor Negotiations

At 5 p.m. on Friday evening, the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL's owners and the league's players' association expired after a week of extended negotiations failed to produce an agreement.

Shortly thereafter, NFLPA boss DeMaurice Smith announced that the union would exercise its right to decertify, thereby removing the organization's standing as the players' sole bargaining representative.

But what does that mean for labor negotiations?

Decertification was largely considered the NFLPA's biggest bargaining chip, but its implications are complicated.

Most importantly, the NFLPA will not cease to exist. It will remain a trade association charged with protecting the players' best interests, conducting internal business, and dealing with the media.

It would not be allowed to negotiate with the owners on all the players' behalf.

However, decertification does open the door for the players to file an antitrust lawsuit against the owners, which could potentially prevent the owners from legally employing a lockout.

Individual players are expected to file suit, with Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Peyton Manning reportedly planning to lead one such major suit.

Filing an antitrust suit would not necessarily lead to a new collective bargaining agreement. The players would have a fairly strong case to prevent a lockout, given that the owners are the ones stonewalling.

Smith and the NFLPA felt comfortable with decertification because the application to decertify, as well as any subsequent antitrust lawsuits, would end up on the desk of U.S. District Judge David Doty.

Doty already ruled in favor of players once, when he ruled that the owners' television contract that would have paid them around $4 billion even in the event of a lockout was not negotiated with the players' best interests in mind.

That denied the owners a huge nest egg they had been counting on in the event of a lockout.

Obviously, the players are hoping Doty would rule in their favor again.

For its part, the NFL denounced the union's decertification as a ploy that will only delay negotiations.

Unfortunately for fans, the move means a labor agreement is likely at least several months away. How that affects the draft, free agency, and the start of the season now depends in part on the ruling of Judge Doty.