Based on various reports, I'm expecting a NFL labor settlement sometime this month, and the Green Bay Packers should start training camp roughly on time. But the legal battle rolls on with a new ruling from the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, that provides a temporary win for the owners and no real resolution. From Pro Football Talk:
While it appears to be a big win for the NFL, it wasn’t unexpected. And it’s far from the complete win the NFL wanted at this stage. As to the critically important question of whether the nonstatutory labor exemption survives the decertification of the NFLPA, the Eighth Circuit made no ruling — which means that even though the lockout can continue, a chance remains that the lockout later will be found to be illegal, exposing the NFL to a potential verdict of $12 billion or more if the 2011 season is lost.
This would have been a big deal a couple months ago, but with the parties on the eve of a new deal, it's not.