If you're not familiar with the Freakonomics blog, it is written by Steven D Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, co-authors of the #1 best-seller book, Freakonomics.  These guys have developed a huge following due to their uncanny ability to "Reveal the hidden side of everything".

Here's the article:

Freakonomics: Five Things You Don’t Know About the NFL Labor Standoff

Let's get the first thing out of the way. The NFL IS a monopoly. A few here argued that it wasn't because we have league's like the arena league.  After reading this you'll understand why that is a ridiculous claim.

Secondly, from the article: "If I were a betting man, I’d say it’s likely there’ll be a lockout (Vegas andInTrade think so, too), but with so much money on the table, I’d be surprised if it lasted very long. There are 9 billion reasons to reach an agreement relatively soon. "

I highly recommend reading the entire article for yourself , and even following the blog.  These guys always have great commentary on a number of interesting topics.