Richard Sherman is one of the vocal players throughout the NFL and is not shy about speaking his mind. He is currently the players representative for the San Francisco 49ers and is predicting there will inevitably a player lockout come after the expiration of the current CBA which is set to run out after 2020 season.
95.7 The Game radio host John Dickinson broke the report where Sherman states<
“It’s gonna happen” with a head-turning degree of certainty and pointed out the two sides won’t negotiate a new CBA before the one in place runs out.
According to USA Today, many players and agents have been frustrated with the current CBA and feel that commissioner Roger Goodell has too much power and their contracts should provide more guarantees. The current NFL Players Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith has also echoed the sentiments Sherman has shared regarding a lockout. As per MMQB
“I think the likelihood of either a strike or a lockout in [2021] is almost a virtual certainty,” Smith said.
Report by USA Today mention Sherman believes that a precedent was set during the last negotiations where the NFL was locked out for a few months prior to the 2011 season and the next set of negotiations will be no different. No games were cancelled during the last lockout so we’ll see what’s forthcoming after the 2020 season.