NFL, NFLPA Agreed to Keep Collusion Ruling Secret From Players

The NFL and NFL Players Association made a deal to keep a major arbitration ruling confidential—one that revealed league executives had pushed team owners to limit guaranteed money in player contracts, according to a report from ESPN.

Arbitrator Found No Collusion—But Found Evidence of Pressure

On January 14, arbitrator Christopher Droney ruled there wasn’t enough proof that team owners colluded to stop quarterbacks from getting fully guaranteed contracts after Deshaun Watson’s record-breaking $230 million deal in 2022. Collusion of that kind would violate the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the league and the players’ union.

But Droney did find that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and league attorney Jeff Pash “urged” owners to limit guaranteed money. He said the NFLPA had proven this by a “clear preponderance of the evidence.”

Despite that strong language, none of this was made public—until recently.

Players Were Left in the Dark

A confidentiality agreement between the league and the union kept the contents of Droney’s 61-page ruling hidden from most players. Even members of the NFLPA’s executive committee didn’t get a copy. That changed only two weeks ago when the ruling was leaked and published on the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast.

Many players were surprised by the ruling’s details and didn’t understand why their own union didn’t inform them.

NFLPA Appeals Six Months Later

On Tuesday night, nearly six months after the ruling, the NFLPA finally filed an appeal, according to a union source.

“The appeal is a reflection of our obligation to enforce the CBA and our commitment to protecting our players’ interests,” the source said. “We’ll do what’s best for players, and we’ll exhaust our options in doing so.”

The appeal will be heard by a three-person panel under CBA rules.

Details Show League Pressure After Watson Deal

Droney’s ruling pointed to emails and texts exchanged by league officials and owners after the Browns signed Deshaun Watson in March 2022. The ruling said that during the March 2022 owners’ meeting, “concerted action was contemplated and invited” to push back against fully guaranteed deals.

Despite that finding, none of the quarterbacks who signed contracts afterward—Kyler Murray, Lamar Jackson, and Russell Wilson—received fully guaranteed deals.

Union Leadership Under Fire

NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell is facing heavy criticism for keeping the ruling from players. Howell had replaced former director DeMaurice Smith and reportedly blamed him for starting the collusion grievance, which he called a waste of resources.

ESPN also mentioned that the NFLPA recently hired attorney Ronald Machen to review Howell’s actions. This came after news that federal investigators were looking into the union’s finances, specifically regarding OneTeam Partners, a licensing firm co-founded by the NFLPA and the MLBPA. Howell serves on the board of OneTeam.

Confidentiality Deal Ignored Union Norms

According to ESPN, the confidentiality agreement allowed only a few union and league lawyers and executives to read the ruling. Even though the CBA states that executive committee members and player reps are entitled to see arbitration rulings, they were not given access.

In fact, at the NFLPA’s annual meeting in Hawai’i in March, player reps were not given the document or told much about it.

During Smith’s time as executive director, sources said the union always shared such rulings with key players.

Players and Agents Left Frustrated

Some players said they were stunned that the union chose not to inform them.

Veteran agent Mike McCartney, who negotiated Kirk Cousins’ fully guaranteed deal in 2018, said the ruling would have helped players and agents during recent contract talks.

“In the end, transparency protects everyone: players, agents and the integrity of the process,” McCartney said.

Former executive committee member Lorenzo Alexander said that when he was involved, the union usually kept leaders informed. Another former player rep added, “My first reaction was, like, why in the heck would they not tell the players or not want this to be public? Like, what’s going on?”

“And then I thought, well, the strategy-makers for the union, they do tend to keep a lot of things pretty buttoned up … So my hope is that there’s a good reason why they did it.”

Appeal Deadline Extended by Confidentiality Deal

According to ESPN, the confidentiality agreement allowed the union to appeal the ruling past the standard 10-day deadline. It also gave the NFL more time to seek repayment for legal costs.

On Wednesday, sources said the league told the union it plans to request more than $12 million in legal fees.

Howell Ran on Transparency—But Faced Criticism

Lloyd Howell was elected executive director in June 2023 and paid $3.4 million last year. Sources say he campaigned on bringing transparency and new ideas to the union. But players are now questioning whether he has followed through.

So far, four current executive committee members declined to comment. One called the situation “dicey.” Meanwhile, the union has yet to send an official message to its player reps about the ruling.