NFL lockout officially in place

NEW YORK, March 12 (UPI) -- The National Football League officially announced a lockout Saturday that moved the upcoming season of the popular U.S. sport a step closer to cancellation.

The post-midnight announcement by the league came shortly after the player's union moved to decertify itself and take the standoff into court in the form of a federal antitrust lawsuit filed Friday.

The lockout means teams may not sign player contracts or make trades. Contact between players and their coaches also is banned.

The lockout is the first work stoppage in the NFL since 1987, and was the result of fruitless negotiations over the future division of television revenues.

"I've been here for the better part of two weeks now, and essentially during that two-week period the union's position on the core economic issues has not changed one iota," said New York Giants President John Mara.

The New York Times said Saturday the two sides had narrowed the gap on their monetary demands, but remained millions of dollars apart.

The league said in a statement Friday that the union's decertification strategy would only delay a settlement and that the player's had "left a very good deal on the table."