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On the same day the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis threw out a judge's order lifting the NFL lockout, sources tell ESPN's Sal Paolantonio very little progress was made in the NFL's labor talks.
NFL Players Association chief DeMaurice Smith left the talks in Manhattan on Friday evening and said negotiators will not meet again until Monday. Lawyers will continue to work through the weekend, sources tell ESPN's Chris Mortensen.
The ruling from the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which vacated Judge Susan Nelson's April 25th ruling lifting the lockout, interrupted the meeting shortly after it started Friday and consumed a lot of time as the participants digested and interpreted the ruling.
Smith also held a 3 p.m. ET conference call with player representatives from each of the 32 teams that also took up some time.
The appellate court issued its decision Friday, even as the league and its locked-out players continued negotiations in New York toward a new collective bargaining agreement in hopes of starting the 2011 season on time. The first preseason game is scheduled for Aug. 7.
The appellate court ruled that the lockout was against federal law after players argued they were suffering irreparable harm. The 8th Circuit put that order on hold, and its ruling Friday said Nelson ignored federal law in reaching her decision.
It does allow the players to go back to federal court in September and re-file their antitrust case.
"While we respect the court's decision, today's ruling does not change our mutual recognition that this matter must be resolved through negotiation," the league and NFLPA said in a joint statement. "We are committed to our current discussions and reaching a fair agreement that will benefit all parties for years to come, and allow for a full 2011 season."
The court's decision came while commissioner Roger Goodell and Smith began a second straight day of negotiations aimed toward resolving the lockout.
The substance of the ruling was not a surprise to either owners or players, and is not expected to change the tenor of the negotiations. The ruling itself wasn't a surprise because it was foreshadowed in previous court opinions -- Judge Kermit Bye had said last month that neither side would be completely happy with the ruling.
The timing of it, falling as negotiations continued, did catch the owners and players off-guard, however.
In addition, rookies and all free agents can seek relief from Nelson through an evidentiary hearing to determine if the lockout applies to all players without contracts.
Owners and players are getting closer to reaching an agreement on the all-important revenue split, sources told ESPN's Sal Paolantonio. That's the good news, but there is bad news -- there's still a lot of work to be done on the new parameters of free agency, particularly whether teams will be allowed the right of first refusal on up to three of their free agents.
Such a scenario could affect some big names -- Joseph Addai, Antonio Cromartie, Santonio Holmes, DeAngelo Williams -- with big money at stake. According to one participant who was on a player conference call Thursday night with Smith, Smith told the players: "We are close, but we've got work to do and I'm not signing this until you guys are taken care of."
Negotiations Thursday stretched for more than 12 hours and deep into the evening. The plaintiffs in the Tom Brady vs. NFL case participated in the call to be updated on the status of labor negotiations, particularly the framework for a new CBA.
All of the details in a new CBA have not been worked out, but the call was designed to give the plaintiffs a clear idea of where the agreement is headed so that they can make an informed decision about the antitrust lawsuit, which must be settled in federal court prior to the CBA taking effect, a league source told ESPN.
An absolute core issue in the discussions between owners and players is the jurisdictional oversight of any agreement. As The New York Times reported Friday, the players want a class-action settlement, which would provide them with the same jurisdictional oversight of this agreement as was the case in the post-1993 Reggie White case.
Even with an arbitration system, final appeals of grievances and disputes went to Judge David Doty in Minneapolis. In this situation, the players want those issues decided by Nelson, who has the current antitrust case.
The issue will be a signficant hurdle, based on what has been stated by both sides in the negotiations. Owners want a strict arbitration system with no federal court oversight.
Some training camps are set to open in less than three weeks. The preseason begins with the Pro Football Hall of Fame inductions and Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, on Aug. 7 between the St. Louis Rams and Chicago Bears.
On the same day the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis threw out a judge's order lifting the NFL lockout, sources tell ESPN's Sal Paolantonio very little progress was made in the NFL's labor talks.
NFL Players Association chief DeMaurice Smith left the talks in Manhattan on Friday evening and said negotiators will not meet again until Monday. Lawyers will continue to work through the weekend, sources tell ESPN's Chris Mortensen.
The ruling from the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which vacated Judge Susan Nelson's April 25th ruling lifting the lockout, interrupted the meeting shortly after it started Friday and consumed a lot of time as the participants digested and interpreted the ruling.
Smith also held a 3 p.m. ET conference call with player representatives from each of the 32 teams that also took up some time.
The appellate court issued its decision Friday, even as the league and its locked-out players continued negotiations in New York toward a new collective bargaining agreement in hopes of starting the 2011 season on time. The first preseason game is scheduled for Aug. 7.
The appellate court ruled that the lockout was against federal law after players argued they were suffering irreparable harm. The 8th Circuit put that order on hold, and its ruling Friday said Nelson ignored federal law in reaching her decision.
It does allow the players to go back to federal court in September and re-file their antitrust case.
"While we respect the court's decision, today's ruling does not change our mutual recognition that this matter must be resolved through negotiation," the league and NFLPA said in a joint statement. "We are committed to our current discussions and reaching a fair agreement that will benefit all parties for years to come, and allow for a full 2011 season."
The court's decision came while commissioner Roger Goodell and Smith began a second straight day of negotiations aimed toward resolving the lockout.
The substance of the ruling was not a surprise to either owners or players, and is not expected to change the tenor of the negotiations. The ruling itself wasn't a surprise because it was foreshadowed in previous court opinions -- Judge Kermit Bye had said last month that neither side would be completely happy with the ruling.
The timing of it, falling as negotiations continued, did catch the owners and players off-guard, however.
In addition, rookies and all free agents can seek relief from Nelson through an evidentiary hearing to determine if the lockout applies to all players without contracts.
Owners and players are getting closer to reaching an agreement on the all-important revenue split, sources told ESPN's Sal Paolantonio. That's the good news, but there is bad news -- there's still a lot of work to be done on the new parameters of free agency, particularly whether teams will be allowed the right of first refusal on up to three of their free agents.
Such a scenario could affect some big names -- Joseph Addai, Antonio Cromartie, Santonio Holmes, DeAngelo Williams -- with big money at stake. According to one participant who was on a player conference call Thursday night with Smith, Smith told the players: "We are close, but we've got work to do and I'm not signing this until you guys are taken care of."
Negotiations Thursday stretched for more than 12 hours and deep into the evening. The plaintiffs in the Tom Brady vs. NFL case participated in the call to be updated on the status of labor negotiations, particularly the framework for a new CBA.
All of the details in a new CBA have not been worked out, but the call was designed to give the plaintiffs a clear idea of where the agreement is headed so that they can make an informed decision about the antitrust lawsuit, which must be settled in federal court prior to the CBA taking effect, a league source told ESPN.
An absolute core issue in the discussions between owners and players is the jurisdictional oversight of any agreement. As The New York Times reported Friday, the players want a class-action settlement, which would provide them with the same jurisdictional oversight of this agreement as was the case in the post-1993 Reggie White case.
Even with an arbitration system, final appeals of grievances and disputes went to Judge David Doty in Minneapolis. In this situation, the players want those issues decided by Nelson, who has the current antitrust case.
The issue will be a signficant hurdle, based on what has been stated by both sides in the negotiations. Owners want a strict arbitration system with no federal court oversight.
Some training camps are set to open in less than three weeks. The preseason begins with the Pro Football Hall of Fame inductions and Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, on Aug. 7 between the St. Louis Rams and Chicago Bears.