The Union does not want a CBA. They want no league, just 32 teams.
No more national television contracts. No more teams sharing revenue.
No more league wide rules over off season workouts, length of training camps, no more league rules on drug testing or discipline for being arrested. No limit to the number of players each team has, no injured reserve, no practice squad. It would all be up to individual teams.
No restricting when a player can enter the NFL, no salary cap, no waiting to be a free agent, no pensions, no health benefits, no injury settlements, no minimum wage, no benefits except as stated in the individual players contract.
It might even violate anti-trust law to set onfield rules for game. So for some games say a horse collar tackle would be illegal, in other games it might not.
Think of 1920's absence of rules and oversight.
It could really wreck college football.
Fortunately for the Packers, they are in the upper half of revenues and if teams are paid individually based on the television ratings they generate the Packers will be fine because they are nationally a popular team. They can hold on for awhile.
The lowest revenue teams like the Raiders and vikings will be hurting. Teams without national following like the Bengals, Lions, Jaguars, and Bills will lose financially rather rapidly and become farm teams for the rest of the league. Think NBA and MLB. Huge salaries for some, lower for most. Declining future revenues.
A CBA and an anti-trust exemption were very valuable things the NFL had.
Competition made the NFL fun to watch as teams improved or declined every year. Now there will be the haves and the have nots.
The George Steinbrenners and the unknowns.