NFLPA's DeMaurice Smith lashes out at league, labels organization "largest group of bullies in the labor market"

Perhaps in signs of things to come, DeMaurice Smith has blasted the NFL as a group of bullies as the 2022 NFL season winds down. The executive director of the Players Union NFLPA lashed out at the NFL's way of doing business. He has never been shy about pointing out the differences in opinion between owners and team owners. Elected in 2009, he was responsible for negotiating the new framework during the 2011 season lockout.

Despite his successes, he believes that it is a unique environment because the NFL itself works as an oddity because the league is exempt from antitrust legislation. Speaking on "The Pivot Podcast," he said,

“The league has probably been the largest group of bullies in the labor market. We’ve had people declare war on labor forever, but I don’t know of another business in America that has antitrust exemptions, they answer to no one... there’s no board of directors, there’s no transparency, there’s no oversight.”

There have been complaints by the players about the ever-increasing gameload, which now stands at 17 regular-season games. Some players have also lashed out at how the situation was handled regarding Tua Tagovailoa when he was concussed, especially against the support the union seemed to extend to Deshaun Watson. Considering that the last lockout was over a decade ago, this could be the opening salvo in an upcoming battle for better terms.

Will DeMaurice Smith head the NFLPA into another NFL lockout?

It is not hard to find sympathy with DeMaurice Smith's position. Over the years, there has been documented mismanagement by owners, to the detriment of players. He might see it as his duty to lead the players to a lockout if negotiations for better terms remain intractable.

In fact, looking at the history of NFL lockouts, one could already be overdue. From 1968 to 1974, the league saw three lockouts. 1982 and 1987 were also impacted. The next player lockout was in 2011. It marked more than two decades of relative calm between players and the league, which has not always been the case in the league's history. Hence, one could see another lockout coming up soon if DeMaurice Smith believes the league to be as intractable as it is.

DeMaurice Smith has given no indication of pursuing any such action at the moment, as he has done before. However, the league will need to note his comments that if they do not assist him with his concerns right now, it has the potential to escalate into something more severe for the league.