AllstonPatsFan
Practice Squad Player
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IANAL, but I have studied estoppel (since I once worked a field where the concept mattered).
Estoppel is a principle that limits the ability to file cases. Collateral estoppel is specifically the idea that you can't relitigate an issue that has already been decided. As others have noted, in this specific case, it means that because the NFL has already litigated the issue of notices with the NFLPA (and lost), it may not be possible for them to re-litigate it, although I believe that the NFL could overcome this by arguing that this is somehow fundamentally different.
It also applies here on the grounds that if someone in an official capacity makes a statement on which you rely, you can hold them responsible for it. For example, if an insurance agent claims that a policy covers X, when in fact it doesn't, the insurance company can be held responsible if X happens. Hmmm, I wonder where that happened here.
That second example is promissory estoppel. It's not going to apply here.