The NFL will be back in action shortly. The lockout that started in March is over and with all the  commotion surrounding the NFL shutting down, only one football game was lost ( an exhibition game no less) and within a few  weeks most fans will have forgotten the whole thing. What lessons can we take from this.

First, if you are going to shut down a league, do it in the off season when no games are going to be lost. Yet, the threat is still there of losing revenue and games, and there is a looming deadline that forces serious negotiations to take place.

Next the old adage of "the best defense is a good offense" still holds true. The league went on offense first with the threat of the lockout. Not to be outdone, the NFLPA quickly followed suit by decertifying and heading to court in Minneapolis with antitrust  litigation. The battle was on, however the war of words was limited and there was little animosity between the two sides. Going back to the 1980's the NFL and NFLPA seemed like the Hatfields and McCoys, but this time everything was kept on a professional level.

Throughout the process we continually heard that the way to reach a new CBA was not through litigation, but by negotiation. Judge Susan Nelson expressed those words on numerous occasions. The parties with the help of a mediator were able to keep grinding away on the biggest issue - the division of league revenue. Once the revenue split was taken care of, it was only a matter of time before other issues fell into place.

Now on to the NBA lockout for sports law aficionados.