NU Online News Service, March 30, 12:13 p.m.EDT

A U.S. District Court judge has granted the National FootballLeague Players Association a permanent injunction against theleague, resolving a workers’ compensation-related dispute that hasgone on for decades.

Judge Paul A. Crotty ruled that a paragraph in the NFLCollective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)—a matter of contention since1977—provides only for a time offset that NFL teams can take frominjured players’ state workers’ comp awards. In other words, teamsare only permitted to collect an offset, orreimbursement, based on a formula that calculates when playersreceived salary and workers' comp payments at the same time.

Teams had argued they were entitled to a dollar-for-dollaroffset—reimbursement of all of the workers’ comp awarded to aplayer—to offset the salary benefits paid by teamsto players.

Adam J. Kaiser, an attorney who represents the players, said theruling was "incredibly important." The contracts of current playersare not guaranteed, meaning teams can drop them if they are hurtand can no longer play. Additionally, former players receive nopost-employment health insurance.

"The NFL talks a good game when it comes to taking care of itsplayers but they despise them," Kaiser says. "Injured playersjust cost them money."

The issue has gone to arbitration multiple times. Crottybasically upheld a previous arbitration decision on thematter, as Kaiser says he has been fighting with teams for about 7years and won on every level. But during the final year of the CBAteams attempted to find a way around previousrulings, saying they only applied to specific players onspecific teams involved in past litigation, and were moreaggressive in going after full reimbursement.

"The only way to deal with them was to go back to Judge Crottyand have him confirm the arbitral award the players won and grant apermanent injunction," Kaiser says. With the ruling from afederal judge, the players now have an enforceable federal courtjudgement, he adds.

“The case here involves an attempt to continuously re-arbitratethe interpretation of the same contractual provision,” Crottywrites. “The court considered and rejected all of [the teams’]other arguments in opposition to this motion.”

The players asked the judge to hold the teams in contempt, butCrotty stopped short of doing so. At least, not "at this juncture,"he writes.

The collective bargaining agreement expired on March 11, and theowners have locked out the players.