Following last week's arguments for a grant of injunction for the players, Judge Susan Nelson has ordered the former players union and the league to negotiate again. However, Judge Nelson has not yet ruled on the grant of an injunction yet ,which is likely not to come for at least a couple of weeks.
Chief magistrate Arthur Boylan has been appointed by Judge Nelson to lead the mediation between the two sides. Negotiations will begin after Boylan meets both sides on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Although Judge Nelson has ordered both sides to negotiate, that does not mean that they must settle. At this point, it would require major concessions on either side for a new deal to get done, which seems unlikely to happen. It would appear that both sides would like to await the judge's ruling before returning to any serious negotiations.
The 2011 NFL Draft begins on April 28, but will there be a new Collective Bargaining Agreement in place by that time? It seems doubtful, but, like Winston Churchill once remarked, what's the point of being anything other than optimistic?
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