Examining the Possible Resolution Scenarios to the NFL Labor Dispute

It has been over 100 days — 106 to be exact — since the NFL entered into a lockout, putting the 2011 season in serious jeopardy. The first preseason game, the Hall of Fame Game featuring the Bears and Rams, is only 42 days away.

With six weeks to go before games are scheduled to begin the lingering question remains: When will this lockout end?

Mike Freeman, a national columnist for CBS Sports, sees four possible scenarios to the end of the dispute.

• Scenario One: It ends within a few weeks. This scenario is predicated on the assumption that both the owners and the players have made more progress than they have publicly admitted but are stuck on deciding how to divide the overall revenue. Freeman gives this scenario a 20 percent chance.
• Scenario Two: It ends months from now. Or beyond. In this scenario, the negotiating sides are nowhere near close to resolution and the season is lost. Freeman gives this doomsday scenario a 5 percent chance.
• Scenario Three: The courts force a settlement. The courts have mainly stayed out of the dispute in the hopes the owners and players can solve the problem themselves. If progress isn't made in a timely fashion, however, the courts may step in. Freeman gives this a 10 percent chance.
• Scenario Four: The sides reach an agreement in July. Publicly, both sides have declared they are inching closer to a deal with every day. In the interest of allowing for a free agency and training camp period before the preseason begins, a deal would likely need to be completed at some point in July. Freeman believes this to be the most likely scenario at 65 percent.

So what do you think? Which scenario is most likely? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.