Steelers Avoid Implication in Major NFL Collusion Scandal

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers tend to stay out of any major headlines in the NFL, especially when it comes to negative press about their ownership team. The Rooney Family has maintained a powerful grasp on the franchise while also being one of the spearheading forces among the NFL’s ownership cohort.

Which is why it’s not a shock to find out the Steelers were not implicated in a major, 61-page ruling on collusion among NFL owners. An arbitrator, Christopher Droney, recently ruled that the an NFL executives were indeed found to have colluded in a manner never before legitimized. Despite the NFL Players Association’s being awarded no damages as a result of the findings, Droney provided a damning piece of evidence in his ruling.

According to Droney’s ruling, obtained exclusively by NFL reporter Pablo Torre, he found that the NFLPA showed ”by a clear preponderance of the evidence that concerted action was contemplated and invited at the March 2022 owners meeting." He went on to write that the NFL encouraged owners to collude.

“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,” Droney wrote.

Torre recently shared more from the findings and provided an excellent breakdown of the situation, which centered around former Steelers’ quarterback Russell Wilson, Arizona Cardinals’ Kyler Murray, and Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens. While Wilson was a member of the Denver Broncos, he sought a fully guaranteed deal similar to that of DeShaun Watson’s guaranteed $230 million deal with the Cleveland Browns.

The NFL’s owners Management Council responded by trying to squash this from happening again. This resulted in, according to Droney’s findings, that the NFL engaged in collusionary tactics to discourage guaranteed contracts. The efforts worked. Murray did not receive a fully guaranteed deal. Neither did Lamar, only getting $185 million out of the $260 million fully guaranteed. We all know how Wilson’s contract wound up.

Betrayal From the Inside?

According to the now publically available documents, former Cleveland Browns lineman and NFLPA Executive JC Tretter was perhaps a reason why this ruling remained buried for six months. Tretter had a big issue with Wilson and his negotiations with the Broncos. That issue may have also played perfectly into the owners’ side, While serving as the NFLPA President between 2020 and 2024, Tretter was quite insulting toward Wilson as he sought a huge guaranteed contract.

“JC Tretter in a series of text messages that he sent to then Executive Director of the (NFL Player’s) Union DeMaurice Smith, repeatedly insulted Russell Wilson,” Torre said. ”At one point he used an expletive that I will not say here. JC Tretter also called Russell Wilson a “wuss,” and then he said of Wilson: ‘Instead of being the guy that made guaranteed contracts the norm, he’s the guy that ruined it for everyone.”