Top Ten Moments of 2011: 3. NFL Lockout Ends!

The NFL lockout was a scary moment for football fans across America. The mystery. The fear. The dread. Could there be no NFL season in 2011? With the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) and the NFL owner disagreeing on such issues as revenue splitting, rookie salaries, and retired players' health insurance, it seemed as if a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) wouldn't be signed until the 2011 season was lost. NFLPA President DeMaurice Smith and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell led opposing sides in the battle for a new CBA but their stubbornness towards compromising put the NFL on the brink of losing millions of fans by the time summer came.

These worries and fears all came to a sudden end on July 25th when, out of nowhere, the NFLPA and owners came to an agreement on a new CBA and began preparations for the 2011 season. On this glorious Monday afternoon Roger Goodell gladly proclaimed, "Football is back!" Training camps for all 32 teams were opened by the end of the week and it was back to business as usual. General managers, owners and coaches quickly went to work to try to improve their teams during what would become the most wild and crazy free agency in NFL history.

As for the specifics of the new CBA deal, as in most deals, both sides won and loss. The revenue split was previously 50/50 but both sides agreed to a 53/47 split in which the owners would receive 53 percent of all revenue earned and the players would earn the remaining 47 percent. As part of that deal, the owners are required to spend 99 percent of the salary cap for the next two seasons, allowing as much money as possible to go to the players. The cap itself was dropped to $120.4 million, a near five percent decrease from last year. As for some other topics, the owners won the rookie wage scale battle, as both sides agreed to get rid of high salaries and guaranteed money for rookies who have yet to play an NFL snap. Also, the players shot down the owners' proposed 18 game schedule, citing an increase in the likelihood of injuries and a decrease in the importance of the regular season.

All things considered, the best moment of lockout's final days was the one shared between Colts center Jeff Saturday and Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Saturday embraced Kraft with a hug in front of the media and thanked him for all that he had done for the NFL during the negotiations. Kraft was present and vocal during the final CBA meetings despite losing his wife Maya to ovarian cancer a week earlier. Saturday's gesture was a fitting end for the lockout, as he was able to show the NFLPA's gratitude towards the Kraft family and all they have done for the league. As Saturday noted, the Krafts "helped save football."

When the dust was all settled, everything seemed to go back to normal. Fans began talking trash to opposing fans. SportsCenter began talking about NFL players and finally stopped blabbing on about the lockout. Fantasy football players began strategizing and drafting their teams. Talks of Brett Favre making a comeback surfaced. All these key ingredients were crucial in bringing back the culture of football that the lockout nearly tarnished. Unlike the NBA four months later, the NFL owners and NFLPA were able to put their egos aside and make a deal to save the NFL season and please the league's growing fan base.