Latest news with #NFLManagementCouncil
Daily Mail
25-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Uncovered arbitrator ruling finds NFL 'encouraged' owner collusion after Deshaun Watson's doomed $230m deal
The NFL Management Council, a group of league executives working with the approval of commissioner Roger Goodell, encouraged all 32 teams to collude against players by denying contractual guarantees, according to an independent arbitrator ruling uncovered by podcaster Pablo Torre. And according to that ruling, the alleged scheme all began in response to the doomed $230 million contract the Cleveland Browns awarded quarterback Deshaun Watson in 2022 – a five-year deal that was fully guaranteed despite outstanding sexual misconduct claims against the NFL star. Watson would ultimately settle nearly two dozen lawsuits with female accusers, while struggling through three injury-plagued seasons with the Browns. 'The alleged purpose of the NFL's agreement with the Clubs was 'to thwart market competition from running its course' and 'to prevent them from following the precedent set by quarterback Deshaun Watson's five-year, fully-guaranteed, $230 million Player Contract signed with the Cleveland Browns in March of 2022,' read independent arbitrator Christopher Droney's ruling published by Torre. Droney released his ruling last summer, noting that the NFL Management Council 'encouraged 32 member Clubs of the NFL to reduce guarantees in future contracts with players at the March 2022 annual meeting.' Despite this, Droney found, the clubs did not engage in collusion and he ultimately dismissed the NFL Players Association's (NFLPA's) arbitration 'in its entirety' earlier this year. Somehow, that ruling remained a secret until Torre published it on Tuesday. A NFLPA spokesman has declined comment to Daily Mail, while an NFL spokesman has not responded to questions about Goodell's possible role in the alleged scheme. The union alleged in its System Arbitration in October of 2022 'that the collusive agreement of the NFL precluded three other quarterbacks – Russell Wilson, Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray – from fully guaranteed contracts after the Watson contract.' All three quarterbacks saw significantly less guaranteed money in their subsequent contracts than Watson had in March of 2022. Murray's $230.5 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals contained only $160 million in guarantees, while just $185 million of Lamar Jackson's $260 million deal with the Baltimore Ravens was guaranteed in March of 2023. Remarkably, Jackson saw very little interest from other teams despite being the league's MVP just a few years earlier. 'Only a couple of teams expressed interest to DeCosta in signing him prior to the Ravens' decision to franchise him,' read the report. Wilson signed a $245 million extension with the Denver in 2022. That deal included $165 million in guarantees, but he was released prior to the 2024 season. The ruling also includes text messages between two team owners: the Cardinals' Michael Bidwill and the Los Angeles Chargers' Dean Spanos. 'Your deal helps us for our QB next year,' Spanos wrote to his supposed rival after Murray re-signed in Arizona. 'I think many teams will be happy with it once they have a chance to review,' Bidwill responded. 'Cleveland really screwed things up, but I was resolved to keep the guaranteed relatively 'low.' One source with knowledge of the grievance told Pro Football Talk that Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert would be a good plaintiff in any legal action against the NFL or even the NFLPA. Herbert's five-year, $262 million deal includes $218 million in guarantees. The NFL's collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expressly forbids collusion between teams and gives the union the right to terminate the CBA in the case of widespread collusion, which can be difficult to prove.
NBC Sports
24-06-2025
- Business
- NBC Sports
Arbitrator found NFL encouraged teams to collude regarding guaranteed contracts
Both sides were determined to keep it secret. Some in the media were determined not to allow that to happen. With both the NFL and the NFL Players Association refusing to release a 61-page ruling by System Arbitrator Christopher Droney in the collusion grievance regarding guarantees in the contract of certain veteran players, two members of the media — Pablo Torre and yours truly — kept pushing. We had a friendly competition to see who could get it first. Pablo won. I'm glad he did. In the NFL media ecosystem, more than 90 percent of the 'journalism' isn't journalism at all. It's positioning for advance notice of an announcement that inevitably will be made. The real journalism (and the only real journalism) in this space comes from finding out the things 'they' don't want us to know. And they (here, the NFL and NFLPA) didn't want anyone to know the outcome of the collusion grievance. Although the NFL won, the NFL lost. As Droney wrote at pages 55 and 56 of the January 14, 2025 ruling, 'There is little question that the NFL Management Council, with the blessing of the Commissioner, encouraged the 32 NFL Clubs to reduce guarantees in veterans' contracts at the March 2022 annual owners' meeting.' In other words, the NFL wanted its member teams to collude. That meeting happened only days after the Browns gave a five-year, fully-guaranteed, $230 million contract to quarterback Deshaun Watson. It also happened only two years after the NFLPA tried, for the second time, to make all player contracts fully guaranteed as part of the broader Collective Bargaining Agreement. The league had fended off that effort, both in 2011 and in 2020. And the league didn't want to concede full guarantees on a piecemeal basis, with one team at a time giving players fully-guaranteed deals until they became the norm. The league ultimately won because Droney found that the evidence introduced at the 2024 hearing did not prove, by a 'clear preponderance' of the evidence, that the teams accepted and acted on the encouragement of the NFL Management Council. For anyone who has followed the inner workings of the league over the years, that's an astounding conclusion. One that defies common sense. Why have a Management Council if teams are going to ignore the things they encourage the teams to do? Some would say it's stronger than encouragement. Some would say the encouragement of the Management Council must be followed. We'll have much to say about the evidence and Droney's possible reasons for finding that, basically, the NFL was the gang that couldn't collude straight. For now, check out the latest episode of Pablo Torre Finds Out, with yours truly riding shotgun, for more about what one source with knowledge of the proceedings described as the most significant ruling in American sports since 1994. And both sides managed to hide it from everyone. For months. Indeed, even though the NFL won, it was caught with its hand in the collusion cookie jar. The league was saved only by the fact that Droney believed no cookies were consumed. Despite the pervasive crumbs.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Flag football at Olympics: NFL allows players to take part in 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles
EAGAN, Minn. — The NFL has approved a resolution allowing NFL players to participate in flag football at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The resolution, proposed with the aim of 'supporting the growth of flag football both domestically and internationally,' permits NFL players to try out for 2028 Olympic flag football teams while limiting the total number of participants who can participate. The resolution passed unanimously. The 32 clubs will allow up to one of their players to play on each country's team. The NFL's international pathway players will also be allowed to participate without restrictions. "America's greatest game," NFL executive vice president Troy Vincent said, "on the world's greatest stage. "I think it will be phenomenal." Vikings WR Justin Jefferson spoke about the 'dream' of playing in the Olympics and American (flag) football growing to a global stage: — Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) May 20, 2025 Injury protection and salary cap credit will be in place for teams who lose a player to injury in the Olympics. Field surfaces and medical staff must reach NFL-approved standards, the resolution said. With the resolution, clubs authorized the NFL Management Council and players union to negotiate Olympic arrangements for its players. The 2028 Summer Olympics will be the first time flag football will be part of the games. The setup and rules of the event will differ from NFL-style football. Each team will feature 10 players total. Five players from each team can take the field at a time. Teams will play two 20-minute halves at the Games. The field will be smaller than a regulation NFL field. The Olympics will feature a 70x25-yard field, including 10 yards for each end zone. Teams will begin on their own 5-yard line and have four downs to make it halfway down the field. Teams can elect to run or pass on each play. A down ends when a flag is removed from a player, when they go out of bounds or when a forward pass hits the ground. If a team reaches the halfway point in four downs, it has four more downs to score a touchdown. If it is unable to do that, the other team takes possession of the ball on its own 5-yard line. After a touchdown is scored, a team can elect to go for an extra point by running a play from the 5-yard line. A team can also go for 2 points from the 10-yard line. If teams are tied after 40 minutes of play, each team will receive possessions until one team achieves an unanswered score. Given the popularity of football in the United States, Team USA is expected to be a favorite to win the gold at the event. This developing story will be updated.
