Though the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the stay, keeping the lockout in place, on Monday afternoon, there may be a growing sense that a new Collective Bargaining Agreement can be reached during the summer. The decision on Monday appears to favor the owners' appeal case on June 3 because the ruling stated that it believed the original grant of an injunction to lift the lockout will not be upheld.
However, on Monday both sides re-opened negotiations and, combined with the likelihood of a successful owners appeal, the players' only route now appears to be to negotiate a new deal. A best guess would be that the two sides reach a new deal before the start of training camp or right before preseason games get underway. Once both sides see the specter of game revenue being lost, that could change the situation quickly.
Follow this NFL Lockout 2011 stream as this story develops.