updated 1:17 p.m. ET Aug. 24, 2008

Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady.

The 2008 NFL season starts with a tale of superstar quarterbacks — one back from retirement in new digs, the other two nursing injuries that probably won’t keep them out but may hinder their effectiveness, especially early.

But there are other clouds for the NFL as it starts its 2008 season.

The league faces impending labor troubles and the possible departure of an influential owner in a family disagreement, one that accentuates the growing gap among owners between multibillionaires and multimillionaires. Meanwhile, the unexpected death of union head Gene Upshaw, who has been instrumental in labor peace for the last two decades, adds a tragic twist to the NFL story and throws uncertainty into the upcoming labor talks.

The quarterback situation will take the spotlight on the field.

Favre, who retired in April after leading Green Bay to the NFC championship game, decided in June to return for an 18th NFL season. After a protracted debate with the Packers, who had already installed Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, he was traded to the New York Jets. Putting on a different shade of green, Favre acknowledged, “feels strange.”

Manning and Brady have physical problems, a constant in a game where big bodies collide on every play.

Manning underwent surgery to remove an infected bursa sac from behind his left knee and only rejoined the Colts on Aug. 19. “My goal is to be back for the first game,” said the quarterback who has started all 160 games since he entered the league in 1998, second to Favre’s 253 consecutive starts, 275 if you count the postseason.

That’s the goal for Brady, too, who missed the first part of exhibition season with an injury to his right foot.

It was his right ankle that hampered him late last year, including in the Super Bowl, where the Patriots’ thrust for an unbeaten season ended when they were upset 17-14 by the New York Giants.

Off the field, the most pressing issue is the status of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dan Rooney, the team’s chairman. Next to the commissioners, he has arguably been the most influential figure in the league for 30 years.

Rooney’s father founded the Steelers in 1932, and Dan now shares 16 percent of the team with his four brothers. Because the brothers hold interest in gambling operations, they must sell their shares and have been entertaining offers that are higher than Dan Rooney can afford to make.

“Dan has done an excellent job running the Steelers and has been a great contributor to the league,” commissioner Roger Goodell said. “We believe he deserves the opportunity to continue, so we’re working toward a resolution on that basis.”

Keeping Rooney in the league grows only more important in the wake of Upshaw’s death.

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For more than 30 years, Rooney has been the peacemaker in labor disputes, dispassionate enough in heated negotiations to step in late and help resolve them. One reason is the respect he gets from both sides, the players and 31 other owners — who often have 31 different opinions.

Last May, the owners opted out of the labor contract extended in March 2006 because they thought that the 60 percent of revenue going to the players is too much in hard economic times. If the contract is not redone by March 2010, the following season would go on without a salary cap — and the possibility of a work stoppage the following year.

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While Upshaw had been taking a hard line, Goodell and owners like Rooney accepted that as standard rhetoric and were reasonably optimistic the problem could be resolved. Upshaw’s death has made the picture murkier.

The union’s chief counsel, Richard Berthelsen, was appointed his interim successor and is likely to stay on through the labor talks — he’s been involved in those issues for 37 years and was Upshaw’s right-hand man. But the dynamic has changed — Upshaw had a close working relationship with Goodell while Berthelsen was in the background.

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