The NFL labor negotiations wouldn't be complete unless President Barack Obama weighed in. Obama did just that on Thursday morning, urging the two sides to get a deal done while appearing to insinuate he'd step in if a lockout takes place. In a quick statement, Obama noted the money involved, his own fandom and threw his weight around a bit as the owners and NFLPA battle it out at the bargaining table.
NFL Network's Albert Breer posted the full statement on Twitter.
"You have owners worth close to a billion, players making millions. The parties should be able to work it out. I'm a big football fan. For an industry making $9B I'd hope they can figure out how to divide it up in a sensible way. I hope they can come to an agreement without me having to intervene."
It's unclear whether Obama would actually step in and what power he'd have in the labor dispute. Obama does make a good point about the money at stake, making the negotiations, with more money most can dream of, seem like two sides dividing up a giant pile of money.
If a lengthy lockout does occur, it's more than possible congress, or the president, could step in and force the two sides back to the table. While they can't push an agreement through, the threat of an anti-trust lawsuit and the power of lawmakers could be a scare-tactic in negotiations. Then again, it could also be nothing at all.
For more on the negotiations, check out our NFL lockout StoryStream.