NFL Lockout Update: The NFL is in Everyone's Dawg House
With baseball underway, the NFL is slowly falling out of the media spotlight. The NFL draft is later this month, but the initial panic of a lockout has gone under the radar. That doesn't mean all is quiet. Multiple lawsuits have been filed against the NFL because of the lockout. At first, the Tom Brady Lawsuit was the only complaint brought against the NFL for the lockout, but since that a few others have followed.
Hall of fame defensive end Carl Eller has spearheaded a second antitrust lawsuit that focuses primarily on representing “all retired or former professional football players who were employed by any NFL member club but are not now employed by the NFL or any member club and who receive health, retirement or other benefits from the NFL pursuant to the ‘Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Player Retirement Plan’ . . . or other benefit plans subsidized by the NFL” and “potential rookie professional football players who, as of March 11, 2011 to the date of final judgment in this action and the determination of any appeal therefrom, have not previously commenced negotiation with any NFL club concerning employment and have not been selected in any NFL College Draft.” The 106 page complaint was filed in the same Minnesota federal court that the Brady v. NFL lawsuit was filed. Since the CBA calls for the 2011 NFL Draft to take place, the Eller case is placing more focus on the draft and potential NFL players, while the Brady case is primarily focusing on current NFL players. The Eller complaint and case also varies from the Brady case because it can avoid the NFL's defense that the union illegally decertified.
The NFL has always been about the fan's experience and interaction, so how could the fans resist jumping on the bandwagon to sue them? Cleveland Browns season ticket holder Kenneth A. Lanci has filed a lawsuit naming both the Cleveland Browns and the NFL. Lanci, the self made millionaire and owner of 10 season tickets and PSL's is seeking $25,000 from the NFL and $25,000 from the Cleveland Browns. Lanci is basing his complaint on the fact that the NFL lockout is preventing him from possessing and using his seats for the games. A few teams have adjusted their payment structures for season ticket holders, but Lanci has taken it upon himself to stand up to the NFL. Lanci said in an interview with ESPN, "It's a fight between billionaires and millionaires. There isn't any sympathy for multimillionaires. It's just not going to happen. And somebody has to stand up and say, 'Enough's enough.' " If you have ever been to the "Dawg Pound" in Cleveland, you know, don't mess with Brown's fans.
With all of these lawsuits, it doesn't seem like much progress is being made. And of course if the season starts on time, all will be forgotten. But, with more and more action in the courtroom, and less action happening on the field, look for more and more potential plaintiffs to emerge seeking their cut of the damage caused by the lockout. Not only for the NFL, but the looming NBA lockout. These cases could carry weight beyond serving as hot stove drama while the millionaires and billionaires that make up the NFL argue.
My name is Christopher Fusco. I am the managing partner of Callahan & Fusco, LLC with offices in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.