The NFL was granted its motion for a stay-on-appeal by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday.
As such, the league will maintain its right to lock the players out until its appeal of Judge Susan Nelson's decision to grant a lockout-lifting injunction is ruled on. That case will be heard on June 3 in St. Louis. Rulings in federal cases like this one generally take 30-45 days, though the injunction hearings have been put on an expedited schedule by the 8th Circuit.
Meanwhile, the league and players returned to federal mediation, as ordered by Nelson in April, under the auspices of U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan on Monday. Michael Hausfeld, lead lawyer for the Eller class in Brady & Eller et al v. the National Football League et al, said the players have a proposal from the league in hand, but a source later described it as nothing more than a couple pages of bullet-points providing a framework.
