In January, arbitrator Christopher Droney issued a ruling on the NFLPA’s collusion case filed against the NFL. Details of that decision were revealed two weeks ago after both parties agreed to suppress the findings.
The league and union struck a confidentiality agreement in an attempt to keep Droney’s ruling secret, ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. and Kayln Kahler report. Things changed when an investigation from Pablo Torre Finds Out published a 61-page document detailing a portion of Droney’s findings. In the wake of the collusion case’s outcome becoming public knowledge, some players have expressed surprise at the union’s role in agreeing to bury it. 
This situation has now taken another interesting turn. NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell decided last night to appeal the ruling – which stated the NFL did not engage in collusion but also that teams were “urged” to restrict guarantees in player contracts – per the ESPN report. The CBA dictates appeals be made within 10 days of a ruling such as this being made, but one of the terms of the confidentiality agreement was that the Players Association would be able to file an appeal well after that period.
“The appeal is a reflection of our obligation to enforce the CBA and our commitment to protecting our players’ interests,” a senior NFLPA source told ESPN about the appeal decision. “We’ll do what’s best for players and we’ll exhaust our options in doing so.”
In the aftermath of the Droney ruling being published, it was reported players would consider their legal options. It was unclear if that would include civil suits being filed against the league based on the details of the case or against the union for its decision to keep the findings away from its members. As the ESPN report notes, DeMaurice Smith‘s tenure as NFLPA executive director regularly included the sharing of key information with the union’s executive committee and its 32 player representatives.
Howell conducted a conference call with the executive committee (which includes 10 members along with president Jalen Reeves-Maybin) shortly after the ruling was made, per the ESPN report. He passed along the outcome of the case but did not mention specifics or distribute copies of the findings from Droney, who was aware of the confidentiality agreement. Per the CBA, executive committee members and player reps have the right to obtain copies of all arbitration findings, but this unusual set of circumstances resulted in that not taking place in this case.
The grounds on which the pending appeal will be made are unclear at this point. The case – which began during Smith’s tenure and which Howell lamented for its usage of union resources once it ended – was founded on the fact Deshaun Watson‘s fully guaranteed Browns pact did not serve as a new precedent for QB deals. Specifically, Russell Wilson (Broncos), Kyler Murray (Cardinals) and Lamar Jackson (Ravens) were cited as examples of other NFL teams agreeing to avoid guaranteeing mega-extensions in full. Wilson and Jackson are known to have sought deals featuring fully locked in salaries, while Murray was the subject of communication between the Cardinals and Chargers’ owners before Justin Herbert inked his own extension.
The ESPN report adds that Howell’s leadership is currently under scrutiny. A special committee of players and an attorney hired last month are in the process of reviewing Howell’s tenure at the helm of the union. Executive committee member Cameron Heyward declined to comment on the appeal news but described the current NFLPA situation as “dicey.”
No timeline is in place at this point regarding when an appeal will be heard. In any case, further updates to this situation can be expected as the fallout from not only the ruling but the efforts to keep it hidden from players continues.
