DeMaurice Smith is already preparing the union for another collective bargaining agreement battle in 2021.

Smith was asked if he has any hopes for a smooth agreement before a possible work stoppage.

"No. We prepare for war," said Smith.

Speaking at his annual Super Bowl news conference, Smith added: "So if we're able to get a collective bargaining agreement done, that's great. But all of these men went through a unilateral declared war on players in 2010 and 2011. I think it's important for [NFL commissioner Roger Goodell] and I to have a wonderful open discussion, but he represents the owners, and we represent the players."

Owners locked out players in the spring of 2011 and received many concessions from the players.

"Everyone likes to posit that there would be some kind of extension," he said. "This collective bargaining agreement was painfully negotiated at a time when the league secured a $4 billion war chest to basically put us out of business. There are a lot of great things about the collective bargaining agreement, but whether it's the great things or the thing that we don't like, collective bargaining agreements are grinding, exhausting elements that come out of two parties that want fundamentally different things. So, I could never imagine a world where you would simply put a page on the back of it that says, 'This document is now extended until 2035.'"