Report: NFLPA telling players to save money for a potential lockout in 2021

There may be a work stoppage for the Minnesota Vikings and the other teams around the NFL after the league’s CBA with the NFLPA expires in 2021.

Back in 2011, the Minnesota Vikings decided to use their first-round draft pick on former Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder. He was a pretty raw prospect, so the Vikings were hoping to get him in their facilities and learning from their coaching staff as quickly as possible.

However, Minnesota was unable to work with Ponder for the majority of his rookie offseason as the NFL was in the middle of a lockout when the NFL Draft occurred. Due to this, the young Minnesota quarterback was unable to participate in any sort of rookie minicamp or OTA practices before training camp began later that summer.

The current collective bargaining agreement between the league and the NFL Players Association is set to expire after the 2020 season. It’s quite possible that something similar to what happened in 2011 could occur once again after the current CBA expires in two years.

Due to this possibility, the NFLPA is already taking the proper precautions for a potential work stoppage. According to Sports Business Journal’s Liz Mullen on Tuesday, NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith has reportedly sent out an email to player agents asking that they tell their clients to begin saving money for a possible lockout in 2021.

In the email, Smith also requested that the agents urge their players to save up a year’s worth of money in case a work stoppage ends up lasting a long period of time.

It sounds a bit scary when first reading this. But this is really just Smith being smart and making sure the league’s players are fully prepared if a lockout does actually happen in 2021.

According to the New York Times, the NFL and the NFLPA have already begun discussions about a new collective bargaining agreement. No huge progress has been made yet, but it seems like a positive sign that the two sides are at least starting the process of working out a new deal.

As of now, no signs are pointing to another lockout in 2021. Hopefully, it remains that way and a new CBA can be agreed upon before the current one expires.