A new scandal is shaking the NFL to its core. A recently unearthed legal ruling determined that commissioner Roger Goodell encouraged all 32 NFL teams to manipulate veteran contracts at the March 2022 owners meeting-undermining marquee players like Russell Wilson, Kyler Murray, and Lamar Jackson.
Insiders Pablo Torre and Mike Florio uncovered the arbitration decision, which the NFL and NFL Players Association (NFLPA) allegedly tried to keep under wraps. On a recent podcast episode, Torre claimed there’s little room for doubt that Goodell encouraged the league to collude against veteran talent.
“There is little doubt that the NFL Management Council, with the Commissioner’s blessing, encouraged the 32 NFL clubs to reduce guarantees in veterans’ contracts at the March 2022 annual owners’ meeting,” reads a section of the arbitration ruling revealed by Torre. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
The Watson Effect
Analysts believe this collusion push came on the heels of the Cleveland Browns’ controversial move to give quarterback Deshaun Watson a fully guaranteed $230 million contract-despite his missing the 2021 season amid multiple sexual misconduct allegations.
Shortly afterward, Lamar Jackson-a former MVP and two-time Pro Bowler-received a $260 million deal from the Baltimore Ravens, but with just $185 million guaranteed.
Despite being one of the league’s most electrifying talents and entering free agency, Jackson didn’t receive a single outside offer that offseason. Experts believe that silence was no accident: it may have been exactly what Goodell hoped would happen, crippling Jackson and other veterans’ leverage in negotiations.
Jackson served as a witness during arbitration. Meanwhile, Murray and his agent, along with Wilson’s agent, submitted written statements. Yet to the surprise-and fury-of many fans and analysts, the ruling carries no consequences for Goodell or the league.
T
he Arbitrator’s Controversial Call
According to Yahoo Sports writer Chris Cwik, arbitrator Christopher Droney ultimately sided with the NFL. While acknowledging the league may have encouraged collusion, Droney stated that it could not be proven “by a clear preponderance” that teams acted on that advice.
This hair-splitting legal distinction has left many wondering how such behavior can be acknowledged and yet go unpunished.
Perhaps even more puzzling: why did the NFLPA seek to bury the ruling? Torre and Florio’s revelations have sparked a firestorm of questions-many of which the public will be demanding answers to in the months ahead.
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