The NFL has come under fire many times in the past with allegations of being rigged, unfair, or biased. Look no further than the 2024 NFL season when fans were adamant that referees call more penalties in favor of Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. One groundbreaking new report reveals that the league may have encouraged collusion on one issue within the past few years.

Former ESPN sportswriter Pablo Torre released a bombshell report on Tuesday claiming the NFL encouraged teams to collude related on the terms of veteran player contracts.

Torre pointed to a 61-page ruling by System Arbitrator Christopher Droney. The ruling comes from a closed-door hearing related to a collusion grievance by the NFLPA regarding guarantees in the contracts for certain veteran players.

Droney wrote towards the end of his ruling from January that “there is little question that the NFL Management Council, with the blessing of the Commissioner, encouraged the 32 NFL Clubs to reduce guarantees in veterans’ contracts at the March 2022 annual owners’ meeting.”

That meeting came on the heels of the Browns giving QB Deshaun Watson a five-year, fully-guaranteed contract worth $230 million.

NFL didn't want more fully-guaranteed contracts after Deshaun Watson contract

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, center, poses for a portrait with general manager Andrew Berry, left, and coach Kevin Stefanski during Watson's introductory news conference on March 26, 2022, at the Browns training facility in Berea.
© Jeff Lange/USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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The NFL didn't want fully-guaranteed contracts to become the norm in the league. Even at the quarterback position.

The NFLPA has sought to make all player contracts fully guaranteed in the past. They've pushed for it as recently as in the last round of Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiations. But the NFL has fended off these efforts during the last two rounds of CBA negotiations.

It appears that the NFL was very worried about Watson's fully-guaranteed contract. The league seem to view it as a potential route for individual teams to set a new precedent around fully guaranteeing contracts.

Technically the NFL came out as the winners in the arbitration hearing. Droney did not find a “clear preponderance” of evidence that NFL teams accepted and acted on the encouragement of the NFL Management Council.

Still, one source with knowledge of the proceedings even described it as “the most significant ruling in American sports since 1994.”

It will be fascinating to see how the NFL and NFLPA respond to this reporting in the coming days.