NFL Owners Meetings Begin Today In Chicago

Today is a big day on the NFL labor front, as league owners are convening in Chicago on the back end of two weeks' worth of cautious optimism emanating from ongoing, lawyer-free negotiations.

Per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, yesterday (Monday) was technically a big day, too, as he reports that owners actually began discussions yesterday.

Florio also reports - under the umbrella of "what he's hearing" - that the division between NFL owners exists, and will center this week on whether the league should leverage everything they can out of players by threatening game checks, or if they should preserve the best interests of the game. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is expected to try to persuade the owners on the side of waiting out a better deal to re-consider their position.

The next couple of days are going to be very interesting. One way or another, it's expected that owners will come out of these meetings more unified than they've been in recent weeks. Time will tell if that's good news or bad for the future of the lockout.