Maybe. With how this one looks, it might be better for them to just take the L instead of having it on the appellate record in the Fifth Circuit that their process is BS.
The benefit, too, is that they can fix their process and then have basically a target on Zeke for his entire career. If he slips up at all they'll bring the fire.
I was just about to post the same thing!
This is one of those rare cases where the NFL just got slammed in court. They didn't just lose, they got embarrassed. Just as I have been saying, this case is becoming a must-win case for both sides that goes well beyond Ezekiel Elliott. The NFL assumed they were already in an untouchable power position so they likely felt their risk was minimal, while the NFLPA saw the writing on the wall and realized if Elliott loses this argument, their members (the players) are royally screwed until the next CBA takes effect.
What has happened now is that the judge has clearly made this a must-win for the NFLPA and a must-not-lose for the NFL. If the NFL wants to retain the power they have now in more harder-to-defend cases, they need this case to go away and not set any precedents, and as such, it would be in their best interests to let this one go as soon as possible. That said, while I'm sure Ezekiel Elliott would love that scenario, I can see the NFLPA now seeing blood in the water and not wanting to let it go.
The NFL has now put at risk the absolute power granted to them by the NFLPA in the current CBA. If the NFL loses that power to a third party or the court system going forward, or it at least becomes weak and diluted, the NFL will not only have lost the power to fight cases that damage the PR of the NFL, they will have also lost one of the largest leverage and negotiation points they have for the next CBA.
The smart play now for the NFL is to drop this case along with an admittance of "mistakes in the process." That would allow them to save a little face, at least with the media and general public (Cowboys and Patriots fans excluded of course) and, most importantly, would allow them to avoid a potential court order that could severely damage their control over player punishment and take away a huge negotiation point in the next CBA.
Of course another option for the NFL is to sit on this for now and hope Elliott screws up or more women come forward at some point, and then later drop it before it goes too far in the courts if neither of those scenarios unfold.
I also agree that regardless now of whether the NFL drops the case or the NFLPA ultimately wins this in the courts, Ezekiel Elliott better make sure he avoids trouble like his career depends on it (it likely will) because the NFL is going to be watching him as closely as possible.