Well, we have some potentially good news here. US Court District Judge David Doty ruled yesterday that the NFL in fact did act in bad faith when it negotiated the TV deals that would secure their revenue stream during a potential lockout, rather than negotiate in the interest of maximizing revenues for both itself as well as the NFLPA.

This decision should come as no surprise for two reasons. First, Judge Doty has often ruled favorably for the NFLPA- so much so that the NFL claimed he was biased and tried to remove him from hearing the case. Secondly, and more importantly, it was (at least to this fan with no legal experience whatsoever) a bit of a no-brainer. If, under the current CBA, you are expected to negotiate TV contracts in good faith with both the players' and owners' financial benefits in mind- and then you don't- well, you're going to get into trouble.

This is a windfall for the NFLPA, and hopefully, for the fans as well. The revenue stream that was going to be available to the owners was basically they're key leverage point- as was reported previously, owners were claiming that they could survive two whole seasons of no football. (Which, in my opinion, showed that they have absolutely no grasp of sporting history- see what happened to both the NHL and the MLB). Deprived of that revenue stream, they may be forced to take a much softer stance.

Let's just hope that this creates a more favorable negotiating environment, as well as a renewed sense of urgency from the owners' side to get a deal done.