NFLPA declines to release 61-page collusion ruling

The NFL and NFL Players Association continue to conceal a 61-page arbitration ruling in a collusion case regarding the failure of teams to give fully-guaranteed contracts to certain veteran quarterbacks. In so doing, both sides are squandering the opportunity to factor the experience into future contract negotiations — to the detriment of their constituents.

The NFLPA specifically has declined to release the document to PFT. The NFL did not respond to three different emails from PFT requesting the document or an explanation for the refusal to provide it.

The league and the union are obviously hiding something. And, as best we can tell, few if any others in a crowded and competitive media ecosystem are trying to get it.

We've heard plenty of things about the contents of the document. Some we have mentioned, like the fact that the arbitrator found evidence of collusion but concluded that damages were not proven. Some we have not yet mentioned, which if true would explain why the two sides are keeping the document a secret. The silence is quite possibly aimed at protecting one or more people from embarrassment, scrutiny, and/or consequences regarding specific contents of the ruling.

Whatever the reason(s) for hiding the document, both the league and the union are missing out on a chance to help teams, players, and agents learn from the experience. The teams, if they had full and complete access to the document, could study it for guidance on how to avoid a similar outcome in the future. The agents, if they had full and complete access to the document, could study it for clues on how to prevent and/or expose collusion in the future when trying to get the best possible deals for the players.

Frankly, an argument could be made that the union's failure to disclose the ruling to its members violates the federal duty of fair representation.

By perpetuating this ruse, both sides are undermining the broader interests of the persons and entities they serve. Our best assessment is that it's the union that hopes to protect one or more people from disclosure of the contents of the document — and that the league is playing along as a way to set the best possible stage for looming bargaining over issues like an 18-game regular season and the increase in international games from 10 per year to 16.

They're all hoping, we think, that this dies down and disappears. If nothing else, the fact that no one else seems to be trying to get the document underscores the reality that there's very little real journalism happening in this space. As Jay Glazer of Fox Sports told me years ago, 95 percent of the reporting on NFL matters relates to things that will otherwise be announced, sooner or later (and usually sooner). Very few reports reveal things they don't want us to know.

It's clear that, as to the contents of the 61-page collusion ruling, the NFL and the NFLPA do not want anyone to know. Which should make every reporter and "insider" even more interested and determined to get it.