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Leaders of the NFL Players Association reportedly colluded with the NFL to withhold key information about an arbitration decision from its very own players. Ironically, the arbitration decision was centered on whether NFL owners had colluded on contract negotiations with quarterbacks.
Making that even worse is the fact that the arbitrator ruled in January, according to ESPN, that the NFLPA showed “by a clear preponderance of the evidence” that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the league’s general counsel Jeff Pash had, in fact, advised owners that they start restricting guaranteed money in player contracts. The NFL execs reportedly made this suggestion after Deshaun Watson signed a then-record, fully guaranteed contract in 2022 with the Cleveland Browns.
Following that arbitration ruling, the NFL and senior leaders of the NFL Players Association entered into a confidentiality agreement that kept those details hidden from players. The results of the NFLPA’s collusion grievance was only made public when the podcast Pablo Torre Finds Out obtained and published the 61-page document.
EXCLUSIVE: Did a text calling Russell Wilson a "wuss" lead to the cover-up of NFL owners colluding against players?@PabloTorre and Mike Florio (@ProFootballTalk) reveal the secret document that billionaires and union execs don't want you to see: https://t.co/qEkxrqNmjB pic.twitter.com/40eTsaUwT3
— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) June 24, 2025
“It’s clear the arbitrator confirmed teams colluded against guaranteed money — something we, as agents, have known they have done since the advent of free agency,” NFL agent Peter Schaffer told ProFootballTalk.com in June.
Now, a senior official within the NFLPA tells ESPN that six months after the arbitrator made his ruling, they will fulfill their “obligation to enforce the CBA and our commitment to protecting our players’ interests.” The NFLPA, however, declined to answer questions about why it took them six months to take any action.
“As the head of the union, Lloyd [Howell Jr.] has an obligation to protect the best interests of the players,” said attorney Peter Ginsberg, who has represented numerous NFL players over the years. “By agreeing to a confidentiality agreement, the union purposefully blocked the players from receiving crucial information about the operations of the NFL. The NFL and the union should not be conspiring together to keep important information from the players.”
The post NFL, Players Union Colluded To Hide Results Of Collusion Investigation From Players: Report appeared first on BroBible.
