The NFL lockout, a warning in the back of football's collective mind for years, now, officially began Saturday night at midnight, with the NFL owners officially voting for a work stoppage following the NFLPA's decertification earlier in the day. The NFLPA, newly reincarnated as a trade organization with no collective bargaining authority, filed an antitrust lawsuit ahead of the decision. It's the NFL's first lockout since 1987, a debacle which also involved decertification and resulted, eventually, in a season that briefly featured replacement players. Keanu Reeves could not be reached for comment, but ESPN reports that Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are among the 10 players officially named on the NFLPA's lawsuit against the NFL.
The two sides had earlier extended the deadline a week, but aside from talk of an agreement on altering the rookie salary scale neither side would budge from its positions, which are currently separated by two regular season games—the NFLPA refuses to play 18—and hundreds of millions of dollars.
The regular season is a long way away, but offseason workouts are nearing their ostensible start time with no agreement in sight.