NFL fight kicks off in St. Paul

So many football luminaries and media descended on Wednesday's hearing about the labor dispute that has hijacked the coming NFL season that the session had to be moved to a bigger room in St. Paul's federal courthouse.

The stakes were enormous. After all, the NFL is a gigantic business, garnering $9 billion a year in revenue, the attention of hundreds of millions of fans and apparel sales that have put Brett Favre jerseys on the backs of kids in China.

Most of the arguments advanced by attorneys representing the owners and players Wednesday were familiar, and U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson advised it would likely be about two weeks before she issued a ruling on the players request to end a lockout imposed by the owners last month. Also coming soon should be a decision by U.S. District Judge David Doty in Minneapolis on whether the owners can use $4 billion in television revenues to fund the lockout.

Nelson's ruling not only could decide the fate of the 2011 season, but also the financial and competitive fortunes of the league for years to come. No wonder all eyes in professional football were focused on the downtown St. Paul courtroom as the attorneys pleaded their cases.

James Quinn, representing the players, said the lockout is causing irreparable harm to the more than 1,000 players. "These players have no jobs, they have nowhere to go," he said.

But David Boies, an attorney for the NFL, argued that Nelson should not have jurisdiction in the case. "These kinds of matters ought to be settled at the collective bargaining table and not in a federal court," he said outside the courthouse after Wednesday's hearing.

Inside the courthouse, a dozen current, former and future players listened to the arguments; all had been ferried to the courthouse in a chartered luxury coach. Ben Leber, Carl Eller, Brian Robison, Vincent Jackson, Charlie Batch and Tony Richardson were some of the players past and present.

Players vs. NFL

The answer? Not much that fans, football diehards and league-watchers haven't already heard.

Players "decertified" or disbanded their union last month, after the previous collective bargaining agreement expired and talks on a new contract broke off. Owners responded with a "lock out," prohibiting players from working out with their teams, signing contracts or doing anything NFL-related.

The players then filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL, accusing the league of being a monopoly and unfairly restricting their ability to earn a living. They asked Nelson to issue an injunction against the lockout, forcing the league to resume normal business and allow the players to return to work. Retired players have also filed an antitrust lawsuit, saying the lockout could hurt their pensions and health benefits.

Boies argued that since the lockout stemmed from stalled labor negotiations, the National Labor Relations Board should have jurisdiction. Nelson should only intervene after enough time had passed after the breakdown of contract talks, he said.

If Nelson sides with the players, they could gain substantial leverage over the owners and league in their lawsuit and in their efforts to get a better contract and maintain their share of league revenues.

If the NFL prevails and the lockout continues, team owners would maintain pressure on players to return to the bargaining table and, perhaps, agree to the league's terms, including a smaller piece of the revenue pie and two more games each season.

At the end of the hearing, Nelson thanked both sides -- then urged them to get back to the negotiating table.

But even on that point, the two sides couldn't agree. Jeffrey Kessler, a players' attorney, said the judge meant they should negotiate a settlement to the suit. Boies said they should get back to hammering out a labor deal.

"We don't need settlement of this lawsuit," Boies said. "What we need is a collective bargaining agreement."

James Walsh • 612-673-7428