NFL Lockout: Is Chicago Sleepover Do-or-Die for 2011 NFL Season?

It has been 102 days since the NFL lockout began, and what are the owners doing? Having a little slumber party in Chicago, Illinois.

As with all slumber parties, there will be plenty of cat-fights and gossip. Hopefully, however, these powerful men can put their minds together and not be too headstrong, and when this little pow-wow is all said and done, the NFL lockout will be in the history books. 

Everyone is wondering, now, after more than three months of meetings, agreements, and disagreements, is the NFL reaching a point of no return? Is it possible that if a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is not signed in Chicago, will the 2011-2012 NFL season will become nothing more than an asterisk in the record books?

To answer this question, we have to look at where we are. It's June 21, and training camp normally begins around mid-July, about three weeks away. Until a new CBA is agreed upon and signed, training camp cannot commence, thus pushing back preseason and then the regular season. 

A lot of teams will be looking to trade some of their big-name players in order to grab fresh talent and/or future draft picks and money. Since the league is in a lockout, players like Donovan McNabb, Kyle Orton, and Kevin Kolb, who are likely to be involved in marquee trades, remain employed by their current teams. 

Another very important offseason process that is currently halted due to the lockout is free agency. There's a large group of players who have contracts which have ended, and these contracts need to be renewed in order for these players to be employed in the next season. Since these players need to go to training camp just like everyone else, (Brett Favre excluded, of course) these signings need to take place before training camp commences. 

For the purpose of answering the do-or-die question, we can view training camp as the official starting point in NFL season process. Since three weeks to training camp is soon to be eclipsed, I will say yes, this Chicago meeting is do-or-die. 

As of 4:00 PM EST on Tuesday, June 21, ESPN was reporting that the details of the new CBA have been presented to owners. This deal would give players 48 percent of all revenue and require teams to spend "close to 100 percent of their salary caps." League commissioner Roger Goodell described his meeting with the owners as a "good discussion," but no deal will be signed on Tuesday, according to sources. 

The fact of the matter is, however, that the NFL season is a stone's throw away. When people, in this case, the players and the owners, maintain nit-picky attitudes, lockouts can last for a very long time. I can only hope, as an avid NFL fan, that the two groups realize that they are indeed in crunch time, and for the good of the fans, themselves, and their families, an agreement can be reached to end this lockout. 

Folks, this is do-or-die.