A breakaway group of NFL players are close to hiring a law firm to intervene in the antitrust lawsuit against the NFL, the Sports Business Daily reported Wednesday.
According to the report, as many as 70 mid-tier players want to be represented separately at mediation, which is being conducted between the NFL and the players in a federal courtroom in Minneapolis.
The motion, expected to be filed by the end of the week, would not contest the Brady v. NFL lawsuit, but would demand the other group of players have their own seat at the negotiations.
The law firm set to represent the group of players must first resolve a minor conflict of interest before moving forward, the report said.
Federal judge Susan Richard Nelson ordered the sides to resume mediation before a federal magistrate, and the new round of talks are now in their fourth day. Few details have come out about whether any progress has been made.
Nelson said two weeks ago that she would take a “couple of weeks” before ruling on the players’ request for an injunction against the owners’ lockout. The players argue the lockout, which went into effect March 11, is causing them irreparable harm.
An appeal to the Eighth Circuit is expected regardless of which way Nelson rules on the injunction.
The breakaway group of players is reportedly unhappy that the NFL Players Association walked out on federally-mediated talks in Washington, D.C., before decertifying the union and filing the antitrust lawsuit.