NFL
Sherman says NFL lockout in 2021 is 'going to happen'
Richard Sherman believes there will be an NFL lockout in 2021, after the collective bargaining agreement ends.
San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman all but promised there would be an NFL lockout in 2021.
Rumours and talk of a potential lockout have been swirling with the end of a 10-year deal approaching, but on Thursday, Sherman confirmed suspicions.
After stating the topic was not even a concern, the four-time Pro Bowl cornerback added it would happen.
"It's going to happen, so it's not like guys are guessing on that one," he said a day after a meeting with team-mates, via USA Today.
The collective bargaining agreement runs through the 2020 season and has drawn much criticism while also sullying the relationship between the league and the NFL Players Association. Some of the many issues players and agents have with the CBA are the lack of guaranteed contracts and the influence commissioner Roger Goodell has in disciplinary matters.
Before the CBA was signed in August 2011, there was a lockout that lasted more than four months. The issues plaguing the league then were in regards to the salary cap, players' safety, rookie salaries and free agency guidelines, among other things.
"We don't plan on changing anything about the deal we currently have right now," Sherman added. "So, I don't think it's going to be negotiated before the end of the CBA, so it's going to cause a lockout and we'll deal with it from there."
Sherman was elected as San Francisco's player representative for the NFLPA, and will have linebacker Brock Coyle and wide receiver Marquise Goodwin as alternates. He described Wednesday's meeting as "productive", as the team discussed what he describes as "everything".
"[We] talked about the expiring CBA, obviously, talked about workers' comp, talked about guys just in general and general knowledge of the things the union does for you," Sherman said. "I guess it was pretty generic. There was nothing really informative. It wasn't like our union meetings, where they invite guys to the annual union meetings that are going to be in Florida this year. [It was about] benefits and things like that that guys get. That was pretty much it."