Labor expert: NFL lockout likely coming

CHAMPAIGN, Ill., March 1 (UPI) -- A lockout imposed by NFL team owners is the most likely outcome as a collective bargaining agreement deadline approaches, a U.S. legal expert said Tuesday.

Michael LeRoy, a professor of law and of labor and employment relations at the University of Illinois, said hopes of a last-minute agreement between owners and the National Football League Players Association before the current agreement expires at midnight Thursday are "a real Hail Mary."

"The owners signaled their intentions as far back as 2008 by exercising their right to opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement, so it's really not surprising that we're on the brink of a work stoppage," LeRoy said.

The two sides are conducting negotiations as the deadline approaches, but the U of I expert said prospects for a deal might be diminished because the NFLPA's new leader, DeMaurice Smith, is under pressure "to prove his toughness."

"At this point he's just untested, and that gives the owners one more reason to bargain tough on their side of the table."