The NFL Players Association has been hit with a verdict in the amount of $7.1 million in the trial of claims brought by retired players who alleged that the union failed to include the former players in licensing deals.

Punitive damages could later be awarded based in addition to the damages intended to compensate the former players.

Earlier in the day, Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal reported that the closing arguments in the trial became contentious, with the plaintiffs’ lawyers accusing the union of having a “slush fund.” 

The union undoubtedly will appeal.

The development is likely good news for the NFL, since it will create a sense of chaos within union leadership, and could eventually result in the ouster of Jeffrey Kessler as the league’s primary outside counsel. 

Kessler has a reputation for being unnecessarily contentious.  He applied the kiss of death to the union’s case by publicly predicting last month that a jury would reject the plaintiffs’ claims.

We’ve said it before, and we might as well say it again.  Based on more than 17 years of practicing law, I firmly believe that anyone who says that they know what a jury will do before the jury does it is lying or stupid, or both.