If you want to predict what is going to happen, the keys are pretty simple.
A lot of the NFL owners are making good money still. As long as the majority of the owners are making adequate money, the law of the pack is that they will let the other franchises flounder and get sold or moved - or both. Pure self-interest. They won't jeapordize their income by voting to opt out of the existing contract but will ride it to the end and the heck with the struggling clubs.
I don't think the union really wants the chaos of an uncapped year, so I don't think they will opt out of the current CBA either. However, there is a possibility driven by pure greed that if enough players and agents believe that they can get more money without a salary cap, they will pull the plug. The players, agents, and the Players Association could care less about whether the NFL thrives or not - they will go for pure short time gain if they think it's there - without a care for where it will be beneficial over a number of years.
When it comes time for a new agreement, the smart move for the Player's Association would be to keep the golden goose alive and healthy but inch forward to a share of the revenue that will still leave the majority of the clubs feeling OK about their profit - but just barely a majority.
However, history tells us that, since the inception of the union movement, unions are driven like lemmings to put their employers out of business. It has happened over and over and over again. It seems so stupid, but that is what has happened. Unions would rather all of their members lose their jobs than give up trying to force more money from the companies than they can afford and still stay in business.
So my best guess is that the current CBA will not be disrupted but that at the end of this CBA, it will turn to pure chaos and it will likely be worse than the situation was before - and for quite a few years.
