NFL found guilty of collusion

The NFL has been handling a complaint from the NFL Players Association about fully guaranteed contracts for well-known veteran quarterbacks, but it has mostly been handled behind the scenes and under the surface.

An arbitrator filed a 61-page written verdict this week, ending the dispute with minimal media coverage.

Pro Football Talk claims that the NFL has explained the absence of extensive coverage of the arbitration by pointing to a confidentiality rule that governs it.

Nevertheless, neither party is prohibited by the secrecy order from making the outcome of the arbitration public. Its only objective is to protect the arbitration procedure from scrutiny while it is being investigated.

Pro Football Talk has been able to learn some of the arbitrator's rulings, despite the league and Players Association choosing to keep the arbitration's results secret.

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According to PFT's sources, the league did in fact advise teams against signing fully guaranteed contracts, but the evidence pertaining to the case's three main quarterbacks—Kyler Murray, Russell Wilson, and Lamar Jackson—was insufficient to establish damages.

Both parties gain some type of success from this outcome. The league demonstrated that there were no damages, but the Players Union was able to demonstrate collusion.

The two sides will shortly face off once more. The Players Association is almost certain to oppose the NFL's proposal to expand the regular season schedule from 17 to 18 games due to concerns about player safety.

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