Star quarterbacks Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts and Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints were among 10 players who sued the NFL in federal court Friday in Minneapolis, accusing the league of conspiracy and anticompetitive practices that date back years.
Their lawsuit asked the court to prevent a lockout, which the league imposed at midnight ET Friday and confirmed in a statement Saturday morning.
Less than two hours after the players' union decertified, clearing the way for antitrust lawsuits, the players filed their 52-page claim and supporting documents in U.S. District Court. They asked the court for class-action status.
They filed a request for an injunction that would keep the NFL and the teams from engaging in a lockout. Invoking the Sherman Act, an 1890 federal antitrust statute that limits monopolies and restrictions on commerce, the players said they were entitled to triple the amount of any damages they've incurred. That means the stakes could be in the hundreds of millions.
The players accused the 32 NFL teams of conspiring to deny their ability to market their services "through a patently unlawful group boycott and price-fixing arrangement or, in the alternative, a unilaterally imposed set of anticompetitive restrictions on player movement, free agency and competitive market freedom."
The collective bargaining agreement with the league expired Friday.
Commissioner Roger Goodell called on the union to re-open negotiations.
In preparation for the lawsuit, the NFL said Saturday it has made two additions to its legal team -- David Boies, who represented Al Gore during the recount fight in the disputed 2000 presidential election, and former U.S. solicitor general Paul Clement.
Boies and Clement will join Gregg Levy, the league's longtime outside counsel.
A hearing date for the lawsuit hasn't been set.
The legal wrangling took place in a federal courthouse in Minnesota, hundreds of miles from the mediated negotiations in Washington. It's the setting for what could be a long legal fight between owners and players.
The names on the complaint were striking: Brady, Brees, Manning and a few others, listed in a block of text at the top of the first page. They're plaintiffs, for now, not just players.
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» Official statements from NFLPA, NFL
» Commissioner Goodell's message to fans
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» Watch: Smith addresses media
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» Watch: NFLN analysts discuss situation
» Watch: Indiana Dean of Law analyzes
They allege that the NFL conspired to deny the players' ability to market their services in what is a $9 billion business. They spelled out what they called a long history of NFL antitrust violations, citing as constraints the potential lockout, rookie salary limitations and the franchise and transition player designations. Teams use those designations to keep key free agents off the open market, but the players also are well compensated when they sign new contracts.
Tom Condon, who represents Manning and Brees, wrote in a statement submitted to the court that a "'lockout' imposed by the NFL threatens to rob Mr. Brees and Mr. Manning, and all other NFL players, of an entire year, or more, of their brief playing careers, which cannot be recaptured."
"This is especially problematic because of the virtually constant need for NFL players to prove their skill and value on the playing field," wrote Condon, one of more than a half-dozen agents who offered statements supporting their clients. "Missing a year or more of playing in the NFL can cause the skills of NFL players to become rusty from lack of competition, making it difficult for them to regain the full talents they exhibited prior to the absence from play. This could shorten or even end the careers of NFL players."
The players also said that if teams "fail to pay any such required payments to any player, that player's contract shall, at the player's option, be declared null and void."
That's a potentially explosive claim: Players would have the right to get out of their contracts if they don't receive a paycheck, even if a settlement is reached.
NFLPA general counsel Richard Berthelsen said a lockout would cause "irreparable injury" to NFL players even if just a few games or offseason activities are wiped out.
"If young players are forced to forego an entire season, they will miss out on a year of the experience and exposure that comes from playing against NFL-level competition and receiving NFL-level coaching, both of which are a must for young players," Berthelsen wrote.
The players want their case in front of U.S. District Judge David Doty, who has overseen NFL labor matters since the early 1990s and several times ruled in favor of the players.
The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz, though it still could end up in front of Doty. The court has designated it as a case related to the Reggie White-led class-action suit that Doty guided toward a 1993 settlement, opening the doors to free agency.
The league has tried in the past to remove Doty from the case, alleging bias toward the players.
Doty issued a ruling last week that backed the NFLPA in a dispute over $4 billion in television revenue that players argue was illegally collected by the owners as a war chest to survive a work stoppage.
Also involved in bringing the antitrust lawsuit against the NFL are San Diego Chargers wide receiver Vincent Jackson, Minnesota Vikings linebacker Ben Leber and defensive end Brian Robison, Patriots guard Logan Mankins, New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora, Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Mike Vrabel, and Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller, who is entered in this year's draft.
"The torch has been passed to a young Aggie who has decided to put his name on a lawsuit," NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
