DeMaurice Smith

Russell Wilson Asked Broncos For Fully Guaranteed Deal, Irked NFLPA Boss By Accepting Less

June 24th, 2025 at 9:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

The NFLPA’s grievance aimed at proving NFL owners colluded to prevent other teams from matching the Browns’ fully guaranteed Deshaun Watson extension did not produce a win. A ruling by an independent arbitrator earlier this year did not find sufficient evidence to determine collusion definitively occurred.

But an investigation from veteran reporter Pablo Torre revealed a trove of information regarding some recent quarterback negotiations and the fallout they produced. The Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast’s report addresses the Cardinals’ 2022 Kyler Murray talks and the Ravens’ first wave of Lamar Jackson negotiations. It also delves into the Broncos’ seminal discussions with their then-hopeful long-term QB solution.

While the NFLPA could not ultimately prove collusion, the investigation featured System Arbitrator Christopher Droney concluding (via Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio), “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.”

Based on the blowback Jimmy and Dee Haslam received from owners upon agreeing to an ultimately disastrous Watson extension (five years, $230MM fully guaranteed), little doubt existed about owners’ desire to prevent such a deal from happening again. A key chapter in this saga occurred in Denver during Russell Wilson‘s summer 2022 extension talks.

Wilson arrived in Denver as the franchise’s biggest swing during a near-decade-long effort to find a long-term Peyton Manning replacement. The Broncos had tried free agents (Case Keenum), early-round draft choices (Paxton Lynch, Drew Lock) and lower-level trade acquisitions (Joe Flacco, Teddy Bridgewater) but did not see any of them become the primary starter for more than a season. Former seventh-rounder Trevor Siemian made the most starts for the team between its Super Bowl 50 victory and the conclusion of the 2021 season. Enter Wilson, whose trade to Denver emerged hours after Aaron Rodgers — a multiyear Broncos target after the future Hall of Famer had listed the team as an acceptable destination amid a standoff with Packers management — agreed to stay in Green Bay.

Through Torre and Florio’s pursuit, the NFLPA’s collusion case is now public (via Florio). A notable section of the case covers Wilson testimony indicating he requested a fully guaranteed seven-year extension from the Broncos that covered around $50MM per year. That would have covered around $350MM and reminded of a baseball contract. Wilson’s agent, Mark Rodgers, has otherwise repped MLB talent. The camp also drove hard bargains in Seattle during 2015 and 2019 negotiations; the Seahawks not wanting to partake in another round of re-up talks helped influence the trade.

Rodgers had just moved the QB market to $50MM per year via his March 2022 Packers extension, but that complex deal had been, as it turned out, designed to be traded rather than fully bringing the market to the $50MM-AAV place. It took until Jalen Hurts‘ April 2023 extension to move the barrier beyond $50MM on a long-term deal, as the Broncos and Wilson agreed on an accord just south of that place.

Wilson and the Broncos agreed on a five-year, $245MM pact in September 2022. The team’s ownership change, approved in August 2022, delayed an extension from becoming final. Wilson viewed the Broncos as “getting cold feet” regarding a fully guaranteed deal after acquiring him.

Communication uncovered via the investigation indicate Rich Hurtado, the Broncos’ VP of football administration and chief negotiator, emailed GM George Paton a series of talking points ahead of the latter’s meeting with incoming CEO Greg Penner. In the email, Hurtado said he believed the Broncos held leverage in Wilson talks and that he could not foresee another team going to the fully guaranteed well the Browns did with Watson.

Watson held unique leverage due to four finalists (the Browns, Falcons, Panthers and Saints) having agreed on trade terms with the Texans. Cleveland won out, after previously being eliminated, due to the whopping guarantee proposal. Wilson was tied to one team, and the Broncos — via the QB’s Seahawks deal (four years, $140MM) — had their new centerpiece player signed through the 2023 season. The franchise tag, which has been a key tool in efforts to limit players during its three-plus-decade history, also served as a tool the Broncos could have used down the line.

Another notable nugget from the Wilson sector of the report involves a Penner handwritten note questioning why the Broncos needed to force the issue with Wilson in 2022. The incoming boss cited the two years remaining on the Seahawks-constructed deal as a reason the Broncos did not need to extend him immediately. Paton had also informed Wilson’s agent a Watson-level guarantee was a “nonstarter.”

In an email sent from Penner to two other members of the Broncos’ ownership group, Penner said Paton informed him the Broncos’ final proposal, regarding guarantees, was “far less than Watson,” and addressed the “benchmark” it set for the rest of the NFL regarding future negotiations. Penner also stated, when forwarding one of the Broncos’ Wilson offers to some in the Broncos ownership ranks, nothing in the deal “other owners would consider off market.”

At the time, the Broncos were believed to want to beat the QB market to the punch by extending Wilson in 2022. Wilson’s concerning play that season made that a poor decision. Wilson received $124MM fully guaranteed — a number still relevant to the Broncos due to the $84MM-plus dead money bloodbath that ensued because of the declining QB’s March 2024 release — but that number checking in so far south of Watson’s $230MM irked then-NFLPA president J.C. Tretter.

In texts with former NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith on July 8, 2024, Tretter lampooned Wilson (via Torre) for not pushing harder for a fully guaranteed Broncos deal. “Instead of being the guy that made guaranteed contracts the norm, he’s the guy that ruined it for everyone,” Tretter said.

This exchange came after Tretter’s time as NFLPA president had ended; the union elected linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin as its new leader on March 8, 2024. Lloyd Howell succeeded Smith on June 28, 2023. (However, Howell had named Tretter as the NFLPA’s chief strategy officer by that point.) It is not exactly shocking to learn an NFLPA power broker was upset at a player not setting an impactful precedent — one that could have given other marquee players a gateway to land NBA- or MLB-style fully guaranteed contract structures — but Torre reports one of the texts referred to Wilson as a “wuss” for failing to do move his effort past the goal line.

Leadership referring to one of its players as such is obviously notable due to the responsibility the union holds. Part of the reason this document did not surface until now stemmed from Tretter not wanting this text exchange to be made public, Torre reports, citing NFLPA sources. This text exchange also impacted the collusion case as a whole, as Torre adds owners used Tretter’s Wilson remarks as evidence no ownership collusion took place.

Wilson did not live up to the trade return the Broncos sent the Seahawks, but the potential Hall of Fame passer has done incredibly well regardless of that two-year stint or failing to land a fully guaranteed Denver deal. Wilson has earned more than $313MM in his 13-year career. The Broncos are still carrying $32MM in dead money from Wilson’s post-June 1 cut, which came after he and the team feuded over a failed Paton effort to move his guarantee vesting date from 2024 to 2025. Wilson did step up in a precedent-setting effort on this front, a move that also protected him from potentially losing money.

Denver has moved on, via its Bo Nix draft investment, while Wilson signed with the Giants in late March. The Broncos would have tumbled into in a Browns-like abyss had they agreed on the QB’s short-lived full guarantee quest. Had the early Wilson momentum for a fully guaranteed extension — amid a desperate period for the Broncos at quarterback — succeeded, Nix probably is elsewhere. Like the Browns with Watson, the Broncos would have been unable to realistically move on due to the dead money consequences on a fully guaranteed deal.

The AFC West franchise succeeding in not matching the Browns’ guarantee structure for Wilson also helped future teams avoid such commitments, as a host of $50MM-per-year (and one $60MM AAV, via Dallas) contracts have been agreed to without coming close to Watson’s guarantee number since the Wilson-Broncos talks wrapped.

Jon Gruden Does Not Intend To Settle Suit; Latest On Dan Snyder’s Role In Scandal

July 12th, 2023 at 4:43pm CST by Sam Robinson

Jon Gruden has resurfaced on the NFL radar, seeing the Saints bring him in as a consultant earlier this offseason. Gruden spent time working with Derek Carr, with the Saints wanting to install some of Gruden’s concepts in their Carr-led offense. Carson Wentz is also receiving Gruden pointers while training as a free agent this offseason.

But the veteran NFL coach is unlikely to land another top job in the league given the way his most recent HC stint ended. More details surrounding Gruden’s Raiders exit have come to light, via ESPN.com’s Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham, who report the team was initially aiming to retain the embattled coach before the second batch of problematic emails dropped on October 11, 2021.

Communication between Gruden, an ESPN employee when he wrote these seminal emails, and then-Washington president Bruce Allen included crude remarks about Roger Goodell, gay NFL players, female referees and Washington cheerleaders. The first email — made public Oct. 8, 2021 as a result of the NFL’s Dan Snyder investigation — included Gruden using a racist trope to describe NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith. In between that email becoming public and the wave of New York Times-uncovered emails three days later, Mark Davis planned to stick with Gruden. Before the second wave of emails emerged, Davis discussed Gruden’s status with current and former Raiders, per Wickersham and Van Natta, who report some wanted the embattled HC gone while others did not.

In between the Wall Street Journal report and the New York Times follow-up that ended up sealing Gruden’s fate, Davis and then-Raiders president Dan Ventrelle spoke with Roger Goodell and lead NFL counsel Jeff Pash. The two NFL bigwigs applied pressure on Davis to act, according to ESPN, with Goodell indicating more emails were coming. While Gruden coached the Raiders’ Week 5 game — a loss to the Bears — he submitted a forced resignation the next day. A month later, Gruden sued Goodell and the NFL.

Thus far on Gruden’s legal journey, he has enjoyed success. Gruden does not intend to settle this suit, according to ESPN, for any amount and aims to “burn the house down” to expose the league for an alleged conspiracy to remove him as Raiders HC. After Davis was nudged to remove Gruden as HC, the Raiders owner blasted the league and Snyder in a conversation with the recently dismissed coach.

The Gruden matter coming out of the NFL’s Snyder investigation helped induce the House Oversight Committee to launch its investigation into the Washington owner. The Congressional probe included Lisa Friel, the NFL’s special counsel for investigations, indicating the leak came from the Commanders and not the league. Denials from every accused party — except for Smith, whom ESPN asserts bragged about leaking the email that included Gruden’s racist trope to describe him — have followed. Gruden has long believed Goodell was responsible for the leak.

Snyder is accused here of leaking the emails to curry favor with the commissioner and to deflect from his scandals. The longtime Washington owner, however, is believed to have attended each of his team’s games during his suspension. Snyder’s July 2021 de facto ban was supposed to last “several months,” but he believed the punishment was to last only a month. With Snyder already receiving what most perceived as a light penalty (the $10MM fine, the short ban and the Beth Wilkinson investigation not producing a report), some owners believe he would not have been effectively forced to sell his franchise had he complied with the terms of the 2021 suspension.

Months later, an ESPN report that contended Snyder had gathered dirt on Goodell and a number of owners accelerated the push for a sale. Snyder and Philadelphia 76ers/New Jersey Devils owner Josh Harris have agreed on a sale, and a ratification vote is scheduled for July 20. Snyder, who remains the subject of a second NFL investigation, has owned the NFC East franchise since 1999.

NFLPA Executive Director Vote Imminent

June 27th, 2023 at 9:51am CST by Adam La Rose

Not much is known with respect to the details of the NFLPA’s search for a new executive director, but it will soon come to a conclusion. CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reports (via Twitter) that a vote on the matter will take place this week and that the position could be filled as early as today.

DeMaurice Smith is in his final term at the helm of the union, following a narrow re-election in 2021. The 59-year-old was widely thought to be on his way out shortly thereafter, however, leading to the belief that a new leader would be elected in short order.

The NFLPA opened its search process for Smith’s successor in October, with the expectation that one would be voted on sometime in 2023 (despite Smith’s term running through 2025, if he had preferred to remain in place that long). As a result, the union will soon have a new leader for the first time since 2009, when Smith took over from Gene Upshaw.

The search process has been shrouded in secrecy, however, and Jones notes that the identity of the three finalists being voted on remains unknown. Few updates have emerged in recent months with respect to candidates vying for the top position, though the most public in that regard has been Matt Schaub. The former Texans and Falcons quarterback has detailed his aspirations to lead the union and the issues he would prioritize if elected, including long-term player healthcare and revenue sharing between owners and players.

The list of finalists was put together by the union’s executive committee (led by president J.C. Tretter, who has been named as a potential candidate to succeed Smith) and a select few player representatives. A general vote of all reps will determine the executive director. The current CBA is in place through 2031, so plenty of time remains between the upcoming election and the point at which negotiations on a new labor agreement will take place.

Matt Schaub On NFLPA Executive Director Aspirations

October 16th, 2022 at 1:50pm CST by Adam La Rose

With NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith set to transition away from his position as early as March 2023, the union’s search for his replacement is underway. The most prominent name to emerge as his potential successor is Matt Schaub.

The longtime Falcons and Texans quarterback is in his second year of retirement, and has been public about his intention of leading the player’s union. He expounded on his candidacy and top priorities in the event he lands the job in an interview with Pro Football Network.

“After playing for 17 years and being a part of the union for 19 years and seeing the impact the union has on players’ lives, both while in the game and once they retire, the physical toll, the mental toll, the emotional toll and how the financial side of the game impacts everyone from the top of the rosters to the bottom,” he said, “it has opened my eyes to want to advocate and help and lead the union to a place that all players need to be in, especially physically as they move beyond the game.”

To no surprise given those remarks, the 41-year-old doubled down on long-term health care as his chief concern, naming lifelong coverage as a target. He also referenced the compensation levels for end-of-the-roster players, along with the split of league revenues between the league and players (central issues in the last round of CBA negotiations) as focal points in upcoming agreements.

In addition to Schaub, other contenders for the position could include NFLPA president J.C. Tretter and senior director of player affairs Don Davis. They, too, have a background as NFL players, something which Smith does not. In Tretter’s case, his status in the union was widely seen as a key factor in his release from the Browns this offseason, and the lack of free agent interest which led to his retirement. Davis, meanwhile, spent more than a decade in the league and has played a leading role in a number of union events under his current title.

NFLPA Beginning Search For DeMaurice Smith Successor

October 2nd, 2022 at 1:52pm CST by Adam La Rose

The NFLPA has had stability at the top for over a decade, but it will have a new leader in the relatively near future. Executive director DeMaurice Smith is currently in his final term, and the union is beginning the search process for his successor.

Smith, 58, was re-elected last October. The vote which extended his stay came in the wake of the latest CBA negotiations, which saw a notable split amongst the players. Smith received the minimum 22 votes required to retain his position, but his final term is expected to be brief.

The NFLPA’s executive director since 2009, Smith will be replaced by no later than 2025, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. He adds, however, that Smith’s transition to a consulting role will more likely take place along a quicker timeline than that. The union’s search for his successor has just begun, with a vote being possible to take place as early as March 2023.

To date, only one candidate has emerged: former Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Schaub. The 41-year-old’s playing career ended after the 2020 season, the final year of his second stint with the Falcons. Schaub – who also spent seven seasons as the Texans’ starter – has been a vocal critic of the two most recent CBAs, and their impact on players.

“It is unprecedented what we’ve done the last two CBAs, with the tenure of the deals, which is almost triple the average career length of most players,” he said recently, via Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic (subscription required). “These past two, it’s been too long based on what has shifted hands and shifted across the table.”

The most recent CBA was marked by a widespread increase in player compensation, particularly at the low end of the pay grade, in exchange for the regular season being expended to 17 games. New TV deals in particular have, on the other hand, led to major spikes in franchise values, as demonstrated most recently by the record-shattering sale of the Broncos this summer.

To find a successor, NFLPA president J.C. Tretter, along with the 10 other members of the union’s executive committee and three most senior player representatives will compile a list of two to four candidates. A general vote amongst all player reps will determine Smith’s replacement. With the current CBA set to run through March 2031, though, there does not need to be much urgency in the search process.

NFLPA To Retain DeMaurice Smith

October 9th, 2021 at 8:04am CST by Zachary Links

DeMaurice Smith‘s job is safe. This week, Smith got the two-thirds vote he needed from the NFLPA’s 32 player reps, keeping him on as the union’s executive director (Twitter link via Dan Graziano of ESPN.com).

Per NFLPA bylaws, the union’s top officials get to vote on whether to extend the executive director’s contract. The first vote is cast by the smaller selection committee, which voted unanimously to extend Smith’s deal in 2017. This time around, the selection committee was split 7-7, leaving Smith’s future up to the player reps.

Smith has served as executive director since 2009, but the most recent round of CBA negotiations put him at odds with many players. But, even after agreeing to an additional regular season game in exchange for a larger share of revenue, the union has voted to move forward with Smith.

“The current proposal contains increases across almost every category of wages, hours, working conditions and benefits for former and current players,” Smith said in March of 2020 after the CBA was approved (via the NY Post). “Like any contested negotiation … the proposal also reflects trades with the counterparty which have to be carefully weighed and assessed across the entirety of the deal. Please be confident that I hear — loudly and clearly — those of you who have passionately expressed their perspective that these gains are not enough when weighed against, for example, adding another game.”

“That position reflects how some members have chosen to weigh what aspect of the deal is important to them. The fact is, however, that there are literally hundreds of issues in any [CBA] that affect thousands of circumstances and impact thousands of current and former players which we must consider carefully.”

The current CBA will run through 2030. Smith’s new contract is expected to keep him in place through 2023.

NFLPA To Vote On DeMaurice Smith’s Future

October 7th, 2021 at 10:43am CST by Zachary Links

DeMaurice Smith‘s time as NFLPA executive director could be coming to a close. On Friday, the union’s 32 player reps will hold a vote on Smith’s future, as Mark Maske of the Washington Post writes.

If Smith doesn’t win two-thirds of the vote, the NFLPA will conduct an open search for his position. The union’s bylaws require the union to identify 2-4 candidates for the job, though could conceivably be among those considered. If Smith does win two-thirds of the vote, he’ll remain under a new contract.

Smith has held the position since 2009 and he’s been reelected twice (2012; 2015). And, in 2017, the selection committee voted unanimously to extend his contract for another four years. This time around, the selection committee was split, leaving Smith’s future up to the player reps.

Clearly, Smith’s showing in the last round of CBA talks didn’t sit well with everyone. The players’ union secured a larger revenue share, but they also agreed to give the NFL an extra regular season game. Aaron Rodgers, Richard Sherman, and others were vocally opposed. If Smith’s job becomes available, Mike Florio of PFT suggests that former Colts first-round pick and current congressional representative Anthony Gonzalez could seek election.

NFLPA Exec Bashes Bills GM For Vaccine Comments

May 19th, 2021 at 9:06am CST by Zachary Links

Back in May, Bills GM Brandon Beane said that he would release players who refused to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Soon after, the league office got in touch with Beane to let him know that teams cannot cut players solely for that reason. Now, NFLPA chief exec DeMaurice Smith has weighed in with his thoughts.

“When a general manager speaks out and says something that is not only inconsistent with league policy, but just has a rank disregard for the rights of our players, I don’t know any other way of characterizing that other than just the stupidity that underlines it,” Smith said (via Liz Mullen of Sports Business Journal.)

Given the NFL’s clarification, Smith probably doesn’t have much to worry about on this front. Still, his comments show that the players’ union will be keeping a watchful eye on the waiver wire for any questionable cuts.

Beane’s comments raise a number of questions about a player’s personal right to say no to the vaccine. Beyond that, one has to wonder how the NFL would handle this type of situation in practice. What happens if a team cuts someone for refusing the vaccine while citing their performance as the reason for the release? In that case, the union would face an uphill battle.

NFLPA To Discuss 2021 Opt-Outs

May 4th, 2021 at 1:46pm CST by Zachary Links

Last year, dozens of NFL players opted out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith says he’ll push to extend that option into 2021 (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero).

A number of NFL locker rooms have already decided against onsite offseason workouts. That’s an indication that some players may choose to stay home this year, should the coronavirus bring new variants to the states. Of course, with vaccines having been widely administered, players are more comfortable with the idea of traveling than they were in 2020.

Chiefs guard and medical school graduate Laurent Duvernay-Tardif was the first player to officially opt out last summer. Scores of players followed, though most said they struggled with the decision, which was complicated by lengthy negotiations over compensation and free agency rights. This time around, Smith is hoping to solidify the terms well in advance to make things easier for players.

Meanwhile, NFLPA president and Browns center J.C. Tretter reiterated the union’s position that every player should boycott voluntary OTAs.

“This is not a 2021 offseason issue. This will be an issue year after year,” Tretter said.

NFLPA Encourages Agent Collusion

February 26th, 2021 at 9:22am CST by Zachary Links

NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith urged agents for free agents at the same position to collude and increase leverage in a virtual meeting this week (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). Smith anticipates that teams will try to cut players and dollars with the salary cap decreasing. With a bit of teamwork, Smith hopes to lessen the impact.

The cap floor has been set at $180MM, once thought to be the potential cap ceiling. Still, the maximum is expected to be less than the $198.2MM limit from 2020. From this point forward, the cap will be largely dictated by the outcome of the league’s TV negotiations. Interestingly, Smith indicated that the cap for future seasons could still be impacted.

At the corporate level, collusion is an illegal practice. However, workers are free to collude, and use the term freely. Agents will occasionally work together to inform negotiations, but competition between player representatives sometimes gets in the way. In this unusual year, Smith wants players to be on the same page in order to get the largest deals possible.

The cap figure may fall somewhere between $182-$183MM, slightly above the agreed upon floor. It’s unlikely that the number will reach $185MM. No matter where it lands, the league will record its first salary cap decrease in over a decade.

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