I was thinking about this from the NFLPA perspective, and how to combat this weak bargaining power. Can they set up a fund from future revenues (taxes) on player earnings, one that would essentially pay the current players their lost wages? If one presumes that the players would get more out of a deal, a portion of that would be due to the sacrifice of the current players, and hence warrant a union surcharge. The union would still have to find a way to borrow against that income stream, but I bet an arrangement could be made -- essentially issuing bonds to investors backed by the tax stream. If you consider a 8 year CBA, that is enough of a time to generate a good guarantee for the current players, even if they lose a full season. This would be larger than the ordinary strike fund that is not usually well funded.
Also, I wonder if the owners have more to lose this time, with the higher TV stream. A strike will cause them greater loss to the owners (though, if I recall, they had an agreement that required the networks to pay them even in the event of a strike).
Also, I wonder if the owners have more to lose this time, with the higher TV stream. A strike will cause them greater loss to the owners (though, if I recall, they had an agreement that required the networks to pay them even in the event of a strike).