A three-person appeals panel upheld an arbitrator’s decision that there was not sufficient evidence of collusion by NFL teams when negotiating the contracts of Kyler Murray, Lamar Jackson and Russell Wilson in 2022.
While the panel found that teams were being invited to participate in collusion by the NFL and described the effort as improper, it ruled that there was not enough evidence to prove that clubs actually joined in a collusive agreement.
The panel upheld the January 2025 decision by arbitrator Christopher Droney. The NFL Players Association had argued that owners violated the collective bargaining agreement by colluding after Deshaun Watson signed his record fully guaranteed contract with the Cleveland Browns in 2022.
The grievance centered on whether Watson’s five-year, $230 million deal affected negotiations involving Murray, Jackson and Wilson. None of those three quarterbacks ultimately signed fully guaranteed contracts.
The case also drew added scrutiny after reports that the NFL and former senior NFLPA leaders had reached a confidentiality agreement that kept the earlier arbitration decision from players.
Even with the appeal denied, the ruling preserved the panel’s finding that the league had encouraged teams to pull back on guarantees, leaving a notable mark on the broader labor fight between the union and the NFL.
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