Secrets and Silence: The Untold Truth Behind the Collusion Case

Schaffer wants to spin the situation forward by focusing on the biggest impediment to fully-guaranteed deals: The outdated funding rule that requires a large portion of future guarantees to be put in escrow.

It’s unclear whether the players’ silence results from fear of reprisal, or from basic apathy.It’s also a win for the league that few are saying anything about the NFL being caught colluding. And it’s a win, too, for the union that no one is calling for a mass ouster of leadership over the inexplicable failure to use the collusion ruling as a weapon against management.It’s been nearly a week since Pablo Torre dropped that bombshell podcast about the NFL collusion ruling, and you’d think fireworks would be ablaze all around the league. Instead? Crickets. A deafening hush has fallen over locker rooms, front offices, and even the players’ union. The NFL and the NFLPA have remained as silent as statues. Sure, there might be a sneaky attempt from either side to pick a friendly face to toss out some half-baked spin—don’t hold your breath waiting for anything substantive. The agents? Closed mouths. The players? Ditto, save for the rare, brave outlier. Everyone seems shackled by unspoken fears or the cold grip of apathy, unwilling to stir the pot in a game where relationships mean everything. Yet, behind the scenes, the fallout lingers, especially with the agent community finally rallying around one glaring barrier to real change: that outdated funding rule strangling guaranteed contracts. The clock’s ticking. Will this silence break? Or will the powers that be continue playing the waiting game while the issue festers? The stage is set—now let’s see who dares to speak up. LEARN MOREThe NFL and the NFL Players Association haven’t said a word. While there’s still a chance either or both will hand-pick a reporter who is otherwise ignoring the case to spoon feed something that will clumsily push back against the bad look that the situation has given to both sides, don’t expect either the league or the union to have anything to say about the substance of the issue.Players aren’t talking either, other than former player and Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year winner Chris Long. We’ve heard that there are Executive Committee members and/or player representatives who aren’t under the thumb of current NFLPA management. None of them has said a peep about the current situation, however.

Only one person, so far, would go on the record. Long-time agent Peter Schaffer provided a statement to PFT.The funding rule was adopted to protect the players against potential insolvency. Now that every team is swimming in cash, there’s no need for it. But the league won’t give it up. Because it’s a bargaining chip in negotiations. That makes any effort to end it a potential win for the league.“For over two decades, the agent community has urged the NFLPA in CBA negotiations to eliminate the NFL’s unilaterally imposed guarantee funding rule on guaranteed player contracts — the biggest obstacle to securing more fully-guaranteed contracts,” Schaffer said. “Now, with this ruling, we have leverage. It’s time to act. Let’s go. End the funding rule.”We’ll see if the silence continues. Maybe the fact that Schaffer has issued a comment will cause others to throw a little caution to the wind and say what they believe, even if they might face repercussions from the big, bad wolves who are officially being very sheepish right now.“It’s clear the arbitrator confirmed teams colluded against guaranteed money — something we, as agents, have known they have done since the advent of free agency,” Schaffer said. “The real question has always been how do we create and force change?”“I’ve got mouths to feed,” one agent said under a grant of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the topic. “These fuckers don’t forget things.”It’s been six days since Pablo Torre’s podcast episode regarding the collusion ruling landed. And very few people in and around the NFL are saying anything about it.Other agents have declined to speak, with multiple agents explaining off the record that there’s no reason to make an enemy of the NFL or the NFLPA when their main business activities require having a working relationship with both sides.Those connected to the situation have nothing to say, either. Agent Mark Rodgers, who represents Russell Wilson, and agent Erik Burkhardt, who represents Kyler Murray, declined comment — even though their clients were two of the three quarterbacks on whom the case focused.