HOUSTON -- Houston Texans players have voted to give the NFL Players Association the option of decertifying if there is a lockout next year.

More than half the teams in the NFL have approved the decertification option for the union.

Decertification would give the union a chance to sue under antitrust laws if there is a lockout. Without decertification, the union would have to wait six months to file a suit after the collective bargaining agreement expired.

This is the final year of the league's collective bargaining agreement, and NFL owners are expected to lock out players if no new deal is reached.

Middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans, the team's union representative, says players hope there's no lockout but this is a way to protect themselves.