WASHINGTON — NFL owners and players agreed early Monday to the terms of a deal to end the lockout, and players were expected to begin the voting process later in the day, two people familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the process was supposed to […]

GEORGIA — NFL owners chatted much of the day, polished off a couple of meals, then overwhelmingly approved a deal to end the lockout. Only one problem: The players aren’t ready to join them at the table just yet. So America’s most popular sport remains in labor limbo a bit longer. The owners voted 31-0 […]

NEW YORK  — Significant progress on a major sticking point in the NFL labor impasse — soaring rookie salaries — during marathon talks Thursday raised hopes that a tentative agreement in principle could perhaps come within 24 hours, according to two people familiar with the negotiations. They cautioned, however, that other key issues remained for […]

NEW YORK  — Heavily fined Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison calls NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell a “crook” and a “devil,” among other insults, in a magazine article. The 2008 AP Defensive Player of the Year hasn’t been shy about ripping the league after he was docked $100,000 for illegal hits last season. In the August […]

MINNEAPOLIS — While NFL owners and players appear to be inching toward a resolution of the league’s long lockout, a group of retired players is clamoring to be more involved in the discussions. The group filed a class-action complaint against the owners and current players in federal court Monday, saying they have been excluded from […]

As the NFL seems unable to resolve the issues surrounding the lockout and the players sit idle, Denver Broncos safety David Bruton has chosen to become a substitute teacher of social studies and math. NPR reports: Bruton says he got the idea from his high school coach and teachers. Why did they think he was […]

NEW YORK — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and several owners are meeting with NFL Players Association chief DeMaurice Smith and a group of players for a second straight day in Maryland. A person with knowledge of the talks tells The Associated Press that the negotiations have continued Wednesday and they include lawyers for both sides. […]

BALTIMORE- Star Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis told ESPN that an NFL lockout will lead to an increase in crime because of the free time NFL players are given along with the large amount of people who depend on them. ESPN reports: “Do this research if we don’t have a season — watch how much […]

NEW ORLEANS — Reggie Bush insists he was only joking when he stirred up fans with posts on his Twitter account about enjoying free time during the NFL lockout. Bush drew critical responses from a number of his nearly 1.7 million Twitter followers when he posted: “Everybody complaining about the lockout! Shoot I’m making the […]

MINNEAPOLIS — After seven weeks of bitter back and forth, failed talks and growing uncertainty about the 2011 season, a federal judge has ordered an immediate end to the NFL lockout.

ST. PAUL, Minn.  — The NFL and its locked-out players have been ordered to start talking again.

MARCO ISLAND, Florida — NFL players and their leadership tried to make a few things perfectly clear Friday: They consider the letter Commissioner Roger Goodell sent them a day earlier an attempt to create “dissension.” They refute the league’s contention that the union walked away from negotiations. They dispute the owners’ depiction of their last-minute […]