What is going to happen to drafted players if no CBA?

[Guiness]

Anyone seen an official position about what will happen to drafted players if there's no CBA?

I've seen it mentioned that the draft will go ahead as planned, regardless of the CBA status, but that if there isn't a new agreement, the drafted players will not be able to sign contracts.

Anyone know if this is accurate? Are those players who enter the draft this year going to end up in limbo if there's a work stoppage?

It would be a tough situation for many of those players. They'll have a hard time staying in shape and supporting themselves, and will have a big impact on their career. The early round guys will still get their chance, but the opportunities for 4-7 rounders and the UDFA's will go way down.

[Lurker64]

There's going to be a draft in April CBA or no. I'm not sure that if it's possible to sign rookies during a lockout, but no team is going to sign rookies during a lockout since there won't be any OTAs or camps during the lockout and a rookie wage scale will likely eventually emerge from the final CBA and teams would rather sign guys with a wage scale than without one.

Of course, even if there is no CBA by March 4 there isn't necessarily going to be a lockout. On March 4 the league has three options: the first is to lock out the players, the second is to just continue on with the current rules (in this option Free Agency starts at midnight on March 4 with no tagging period), and the final option is to declare an impasse and just establish the league's last best offer to the NFLPA as the work rules.

The NFL will not choose option 2 under any circumstances. So it's largely just an issue as to whether the league declares a lockout or an impasse. If there is a lockout, the union will decertify and there will be a gaggle of lawsuits. If there is an impasse, there will be an antitrust lawsuit and, if the rules that the league sets survive said lawsuit (odds are good that they will), then the players will have to get back to the bargaining table ASAP if they want anything better.

[Joemailman]

I haven't heard anything from either the league or the union on this, but every opinion I've read seems to think that no one will be signed until there is a CBA. That would make sense to me, although it makes me wonder why so many juniors are entering the draft if that is the case. Perhaps there is just a lot of confidence that the new CBA will be settled.