NFLPA president Eric Winston agrees with DeMaurice Smith that a work stoppage in 2021 is likely. The current relationship between the NFL and the union is contentious. 

Winston also suggested players shouldn't care that a strike or lockout "might kill the goose that laid the golden egg."

"Honestly I don't care and I don't think the guys in this locker room care whether [the NFL] is going to be around in 20 years because none of us are going to be playing," Winston, an offensive tackle for the Bengals, told WCPO. "So if these guys [the owners] want to own for a long time, then they can own for a long time. But another work stoppage might kill the golden goose."

Smith said last week that "the likelihood of either a strike or a lockout is almost a virtual certainty."

Players are preparing for the possibility of a long-term stoppage.

"I'm certainly not worried about it," he said. "I'm not going to be around that long. I don't care if even if there are rookies in here -- they're not going to be playing that long.

"So if this thing dies out in 20 years, it dies out in 20 years. That's not really my concern, and I don't think it's any of these players' concern in here either."