Today could be a turning point in NFL lockout

Today a court-appointed investigator will review NFL players' complaints that the owners cheated them. The crux of the players' argument is that the owners gave the networks a break on broadcast contracts in exchange for lockout insurance. That insurance gives the owners $4.5 billion in revenue next year even if no games are played.

Dan Graziano at Fanhouse explains:

Specifically, the union argues that the league awarded valuable new benefits such as the RedZone channel and mobile and broadband rights to its broadcast partners for 2009 and 2010 without charging any price increases until 2011. The players argue that, because they and the owners share revenue, the owners have a responsibility to seek maximum value in broadcast deals.  It's the union's contention that, because it's guaranteed, the $4.5 billion could act as "lockout insurance" to cover the owners and allow them to cancel games and not suffer great losses while they wait for the players to give in to their demands.

There's a larger issue here, notes Dave Zirin at The Huffington Post. Zirin cites a letter written by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to the fans. Goodell, writes Zirin,

establishes himself as a stalking horse for a broader, systemic strategy being used by governors and captains of industry across the country. It's a strategy that for all the focus-tested language has one end-goal: getting workers to work harder for less.

The owners want a longer season (18 games) and lower wages for rookies (sound familiar?)  Denver Broncos Quarterback Kyle Orton noted that Goodell urged both sides to "give a little." ESPN reported that Orton said

It sounds like more than 'a little' to me. What are the owners giving that's equal to that?. So we'll see how that plays out, but it's not going to be a one-way situation where the players give and the owners don't.

Washington Redskins defensive lineman Vonnie Holliday questions whether the owners are operating in a way that's good for the players. Holliday said,

We have a formula that works. And we're just asking the owners: Why opt out? Why are we going though labor issues right now, when this equation is working?

Zirin argues that the dispute is the most amplified battleground in the fight between bosses and workers over who pays for the U.S.'s severe economic crisis.

"The vast majority of fans have a side in this fight," Zirin writes." And it's not with Roger Goodell."

Oh, and did we mention that the Teamsters have a long and storied history with the NFL Players Association, and that Hall of Famer Jim Brown once handed out cards to form a Teamsters affiliate?