SALVO, North Carolina: A US appeals court granted the NFL's request to put the lockout back into effect Friday in a decision that came only hours after players across the league had returned to work. The ruling is a temporary “administrative stay” to give the Eighth District Court of Appeals time to evaluate the league's main request for a stay pending appeal on the injunction imposed earlier this week. “The clubs have been told that the prior lockout rules are reinstated effective immediately,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in an email statement. The lockout began seven weeks ago after talks between the league and players over a new collective bargaining agreement broke down on March 11. That led to a flurry of legal activity and Monday the players succeeded in gaining an injunction from a district court to halt the lockout. Adding to the atmosphere of chaos surrounding the league, the court's order was issued while the NFL was carrying out the second and third rounds of their annual player draft. The first impact of the return to the lockout is to put the brakes on any potential free agency deals. Players at the first round of Thursday's nationally televised draft, witnessed NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell being booed by fans who chanted “We want football.” For a few hours on Friday, football did return to something close to normality. Athletes worked out, chatted with coaches and picked up new playbooks as NFL teams began implementing rules for complying with a judge's order. New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, a plaintiff in the players' antitrust lawsuit against the owners, told CNBC he was confident there would be a 2011 season. “There are too many players and too many owners that want it,” said Brady. “There needs to be compromise.”
