Locking of the NFL gets its day in court

New England Patriots QB Tom Brady is one of the players named in the trial against the NFL.A judge will consider whether, to grant a preliminary injunction to lift the lockoutIf determination for one, the NFL is likely to appealIf it dismissed the motion, lockout continuesThe lock will affect the start of next season

st. paul, Minnesota (cnn) - a federal judge will hear arguments Wednesday from lawyers representing current and former NFL players who want the League to lift its locking and to move forward this year football season.

Judge Susan Richard Nelson consider granting a preliminary injunction that would lift the lockout, the result of ongoing litigation between the owners of the NFL and the players who do not have managed to reach a collective agreement.

It is possible that Nelson will make a decision after hearing on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in St. Paul.

If it decides for a preliminary injunction, the NFL is subject to appeal.

If it rejects motion of the players, the lockout will continue.

Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and seven other players have filed a legal action on behalf of other players NFL current and eligible against the League to halt the lockout, which could affect the beginning of the 2011-2012 seasonscheduled for September 8.

What to expect of Brady v. NFL

The players also want any trial to determine if the locking of the NFL is in violation of federal antitrust laws.

On Monday, federal judge has agreed to combine Brady v. of the National Football League with a different class, Eller v. NFL, filed in late March by a group composed primarily of former NFL players.

This second trial is "potentially more threatening" because the applicants in Eller v. of the NFL are not negotiating members of the Union of the players in the NFL (COORS) and the NFL cannot claim that they engaged in bad faith in discussion of collective bargaininglegal analyst fcupdate.nl Michael McCann.

"The case may be removed from the image in Eller v. of the NFL, a point that could remove a key defence has the NFL in Brady v. of the NFL," said McCann.

Last month, the negotiations between the NFL and COORS to prevent a stoppage of work fell down. The Union of the revoked itself players. By waive their rights to collective bargaining, players could submit individual antitrust proceedings against the League and owners. This move paved the way for a long legal battle with the owners.

At the time, the NFL has accused the union of the March of "a very good deal on the table."

If players are locked to play in September, it would be the first work stoppage by NFL since 1987, with a month of work and legal maneuvers for fans of football already confused about how a $ 9 billion industry is not enough money to satisfy everyone.

NFL prepares players for locking

In the heart of the issue between the players and the owners is to know how to divide the League $ 9 billion revenue.

Right now, the NFL owners take $ 1 billion in the upper part of this income stream. After that, the players get about 60%.

Owners say that the agreement of the current work does not take into account the increase in costs related to the construction of stadiums and to promote the game. Players argue that the League has not sufficiently opened its books to prove.

In addition, the owners also want to increase the season by two games, some players are against the risk of injury.

While star players earn millions of dollars each year, the median for NFL salary is $790,000 and average career lasts about four years.

Lockout also an impact on the employees of the League: receptionists, sellers of tickets and Stadium workers. New York Jets announced that they will need all business-side employees to take leave without pay for one week each month for a lockout.

The lockout will not stop the NFL draft, which will take place as scheduled on 28 to 30 April, the League said.

All other regular off-season activities would cease, threatening to delay or cancel the beginning of the new season.

Teams could approach the project a little differently in a lock-out, according to Steve Politi, a sports journalist for the Star-Ledger in Newark, New Jersey.

"Teams pourrait (draft) based on needs rather than the best available players, because who knows when they will be able to meet these needs on the free-agent market,"Politi said.""

It is possible for the season NFL to go forward with replacement players, but analyst Michael McCann said that is not likely:

He explained "legal and practical obstacles would be doing so extremely unlikely,".

But it is still possible.

"The NFL could support that, if the NFL players accept the best offer from ABC (collective agreement) of the League, the League has no choice but to games with other players who are ready to play"He added.Tricia Escobedo of CNN reported from Atlanta and Chris Welch of St. Paul. Steve Politi, a sports journalist for the Star-Ledger in Newark, New Jersey, contributed to this report.

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