A three-person panel has issued a ruling in the January 2025 appeal of the collusion grievance filed by the NFL Players Association.
The Thursday ruling, a copy of which PFT has obtained, upheld the arbitrator’s ultimate finding.
That said, the panel also confirmed the finding that the NFL invited its teams to collude in resisting fully-guaranteed contracts for veteran players.
At page 8 of the ruling, the panel specifically writes that the NFL’s “efforts to solve the perceived problem by encouraging joint action by its member Clubs was improper.”
The appeals panel also found (contrary to the arbitrator’s ruling) that the NFLPA proved by a “clear preponderance of the evidence that each Club was aware that the others were being invited to participate in collusion.” Here’s the key line, also from page 8: “We cannot fathom these sophisticated businesspeople did not comprehend they were being encouraged to limit or reduce guaranteed contracts.”
That said, the panel ultimately concluded that the evidence failed to show that “some or all of the Clubs” accepted the invitation to collude. It’s the same decision the arbitrator reached, and that’s what kept the case from resulting in an award of financial damages.
Regardless, the appeal underscores the fact that the NFL was caught with its hand in the collusion cookie jar. Now that the case is fully resolved, it will be interesting to see whether and to what extent the NFLPA attempts to leverage the language that is favorable to the union, and unfavorable to the league.
Under executive director Lloyd Howell, the outcome was hidden for months. New executive director JC Tretter has a chance to make hay regarding the finding of an active attempt to collude — especially at a time when the Department of Justice has opened an antitrust investigation regarding the NFL.
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