Another season of NFL head-bashing is in jeopardy.

The National Football League's collective bargaining agreement expires at 12:01 a.m. Friday, and if no agreement has been reached by the deadline, news reports indicate owners will lock out the players. Further, news reports indicate the players' union will decertify itself and that litigation will follow.

In other words, it'll be a big mess, more so for the players and owners than the fans. But NFL fans – and there are many millions of them all over the world – also will pay a price if no agreement is reached.

This ongoing negotiating face-off has been described as a struggle between billionaires (the owners) and millionaires (the players). That's certainly true in some cases. But here's a more accurate summary of the issue – when this much money is at stake for both sides, it would be crazy not to reach an agreement.

Certainly, there are serious issues that divide the sides. Players, quite reasonably, are resisting the idea of an 18-game season schedule. The game is so brutal it's a rare player who makes it through the whole season uninjured.

Owners, wishing to avoid paying multimillion-dollar contracts for unproven players, want a salary cap for draft choices.

There are issues related to players' pensions and long-term health care and owners' stadium construction obligations. Don't kid yourself that this is anything other than big business. But if owners are entitled to big profits – and they are – players deserve to negotiate generous salary, benefits and pensions.

The question is whether common sense will prevail. Neither side can afford not to reach an agreement. Both sides also should be concerned that disgusted fans might look elsewhere for their entertainment if there's a long strike.

A federal mediator is working with negotiators to reach an agreement. Both sides freely concede they are nowhere near agreement.

But they have far more in common – neither will make anything if they can't hammer out their differences.