Ragnarok is coming.

No, not the end of the world envisaged by Norse mythology, where the old world is destroyed and a new one takes its place.

No, it’s a ragnarok of two of the nation’s biggest sports leagues. The NFL and NBA are at the end of their respective collective bargaining agreements and are both facing a lockout.

First to go would be the NFL, which had its last strike in 1987. This season, under the agreement that expires in March, will be uncapped, and the 2011 season would be locked out without an agreement.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is holding all of the cards, just like NBA Commish David Stern. The NFL labor agreement is much more owner friendly, but the owners are concerned over costs and are keen to reduce the share of money players receive out of league revenues (wage cuts of 18 percent leaguewide) and rein in rookie wages. One idea actively floated by Goodell is scrapping the preseason and going with an 18-game schedule. As anyone who has been on the sidelines to witness the power of an NFL-grade hit can attest, the PUP (physically unable to perform) list is going to be longer than the federal code.

The players don’t like the idea of getting paid the same salaries to play in two more games a year at full speed with an increased threat of career-threatening injuries looming over them. With the average NFL career lasting around three years, it’s little wonder they will balk at this idea, especially if their share of revenues remains the same or is decreased.

Second to go would be the 2011-12 season for the NBA. With revenues in the $3 billion range and players receiving approximately 57 percent of that revenue, the owners in a rapidly sinking economy seek to lower player costs and several franchises are claiming that they are in serious financial distress. Question, owners, who isn’t?

But the union is digging in its heels and another lockout like the one in 1999 looms. Never mind that the NBA regular season is 30 games too long or that the playoffs take months to finish. The last lockout in good times did nearly irreparable harm to the NBA’s image achieved during the Michael Jordan heyday of the 1990s.

Imagine what one would do in these harsh economic times. Contraction of some of the more cash-strapped franchises is a possibility.

The players hold a few cards, even though in 1999’s labor struggles, Stern worked the public relations tomfoolery of the locked-out players to muscle a better deal. This year’s NBA Finals were excellent and drew the best ratings ABC has received for the NBA. But the height of arrogance of an NBA player was shown as LeBron James mumbled his desire to play for the Miami Heat on a narcissistic happy-fun time special on ESPN. The sad statement for our society was the farcical show was a huge ratings hit.

Stern will likely ask for a hard salary cap (the one now has more loopholes than the tax code), a stricter rookie wage scale and an end to the guaranteed contracts that often hang around the necks of owners like albatrosses when a player decides not to perform up to the level of his salary. So who’s at fault here, the player who cashes the paycheck or the owner signing the check?

Either way, don’t expect an easy solution to either league’s labor dilemnas.

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Steve Wilson is sports editor of The Vicksburg Post. You can follow him on Twitter at vpsportseditor. He can be reached at 601-636-4545, ext. 142 or at swilson@vicksburgpost.com.