NFLPA chief: 2021 work stoppage 'virtual certainty'

The NFL's collective bargaining agreement expires in four years, and NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith believes there will be a work stoppage in 2021.

"I think that the likelihood of either a strike or a lockout is almost a virtual certainty," Smith said in a video interview posted on the MMBQB/Sports Illustrated website on Thursday.

Owners locked out players for 132 days in 2011 until the current 10-year CBA was signed on July 25, 2011.

Since the agreement was signed, the players association has clashed with the league in notable cases such as Ezekiel Elliott's suspension for alleged domestic violence, Tom Brady's Deflategate suspension and Adrian Peterson's suspension for child abuse.

On Wednesday, the NFL and the players association released simultaneous statements regarding Elliot's case.

The league alleged the union was releasing details of text messages sent by Elliott's accuser in an attempt to discredit the allegations. The NFLPA said the accusations were a lie.

In 2008, the owners opted out of the CBA agreed upon in 2006. That deal expired March 11, 2011, after negotiations collapsed following a one-week extension.

The NFL's last in-season labor stoppage occurred in 1987 when the players went out on strike. The strike began after Week 2, forced the cancellation of games in Week 3. Three weeks of games went on with replacement players until the 24-day strike ended after Week 6.

In the video, Smith said he is uncertain if games would be missed in a potential work stoppage in 2021.

"I don't know, but I mean, let's look at our history," Smith said. "The owners do a deal in 2006 and opt out in 2008. We do a deal in 2011 with no opt-outs because we like the benefits under the current deal and we didn't want to give the owners an opportunity to opt out and take back the gains that we currently have."

Smith also said the union is disappointed in not seeing the benefits it anticipated when the current CBA was agreed upon.

"All the mutual benefits that were supposed to happen as a result of the opt-out didn't happen last time," Smith said. "Owners colluded with each other, and we found they colluded with each other. And all of the bad things that went to the players happened, and none of the bad things that went to owners happened. So we have a new deal where if it doesn't get fixed, you head into a certain (problem)."