NFL And Players Next Round Of Mediation Talks Set For May 16

Callum Dean

While all the talk about the NFL and the decertified NFLPA as of late has been focused on the lockout and whether or not the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit will be issuing a ruling on the NFL’s motion for a permanent stay on the lockout there is a mediation session that’s going to be held between both sides on May 16 in Minneapolis.

During a conversation on ProFootballTalk Live, Commissioner Roger Goodell confirmed the date and also mentioned that there will be four NFL owners present during the mediation. Those four owners won’t have the ability to approve any deal, if a deal were reached during the mediation talks, and would have to defer to the other 28 owners not in attendance.

When it comes to the NFLPA*, things are a little easier for a deal to be approved on their side. The contingent of people who are representing the interest of the players will have full authority on any and all matters related to negotiations at the mediation hearings. That contingent would include the 10 players named as plaintiffs in the Brady v. NFL case and class counsel.

George Atallah, NFLPA* spokesman, told ProFootballTalk.com that has been the case during bargaining and is the case during litigation settlement and said that, “Players in attendance have the authority to make decisions along with class counsel.” DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the NFLPA*, is a part of that class counsel.

If a deal is reached during mediation and that deal gets approved by the courts the players not named in the suit have the power to object to any settlement reached or file a lawsuit of their own.

While the goal of the mediation talks is to get the Brady v. NFL suit settled both sides probably won’t come to any agreed deal as they both will wait to see what the Eighth Circuit’s ruling will be. It looks like we’re going to continue to be stuck waiting until any real progress is made.

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