NFL owners on Tuesday are expected to hear for the first time from league executives the plan for the sport in the event of a work stoppage next year, sources said last week.
The collective-bargaining agreement expires in early March, and the NFL has already begun making moves to ready itself, including locking in media payments and structuring bank loans so as to avoid defaults even if there are no games.
Now, owners will hear the details of what the league is planning for itself, including staff salary reductions, as well as recommendations for how teams should prepare.
“There are many preparations taking place, including the union preparing to decertify and go out of business,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello wrote in an e-mail. “Our focus is on negotiating a new agreement with the union. The longer it goes, the tougher it will be, and we are not sure if this union plans on continuing to be a union. As a league, we have to plan accordingly.”
The NFL Players Association, arguing that the league is preparing for a lockout, has been setting the stage for decertification by handing out voting cards that would allow players to take that action. The reason the union would decertify is it would allow the players to sue the league, something a labor group cannot do under federal law.
As of last week, at least 10 teams reportedly had voted to decertify.
An NFLPA representative could not immediately be reached for comment on owners hearing about the league’s contingency plans for a lockout. Owners gather on Tuesday for a one-day meeting in Chicago.
Also at the meeting, the owners may vote to restructure how the league handles apparel licensing. Instead of licensing the business to one company, currently Reebok, the league plans to segment the business into eight to 10 areas, such as on-field, headwear, youth and performance. Each segment will carry its own agreement. The total package is expected to result in fees up to 50 percent higher than the $25 million annual average, plus royalties, deal the league signed with Reebok a decade ago.
Several sources said some companies not well-known in sports apparel were bidding, but they declined to identify those companies by name.
