National Football League

Report: NFL owners lock out players

Published Mar. 11, 2011 12:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

NFL owners have locked out the players, signaling the start of the league's first work stoppage since 1987.

Two people with knowledge of the league's decision told The Associated Press that the owners made the move at midnight, capping a Friday in which labor talks broke off because the league and the union couldn't decide how to divvy up $9 billion a year.

The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

Hours earlier, the union decertified, and 10 players, including MVP quarterbacks and Peyton Manning, sued the owners in federal court. The players also requested an injunction to block the lockout - even before the league imposed it.