NFL Wins Crackdown Against NFLPA: Accusations of False Injuries
An arbitrator ruled in favor of the NFL in a dispute with the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), including then-president JC Tretter, for allegedly encouraging running backs to “exaggerate” injuries to gain an advantage in contract negotiations. The decision, issued in February 2024 by Sidney Moreland, was kept secret until it was revealed by the podcast “Pablo Torre Finds Out” on Thursday.The NFL stated that it did not accuse any player of faking an injury, thanking the referee’s thorough review. The NFL informed team owners and executives about the decision during the league’s annual meeting in Palm Beach, Florida. The NFL filed the complaint on September 11, 2023, alleging that the NFLPA suggested the practice to running backs in a Zoom meeting, seeking that the union “cease and desist from such improper conduct.” In September 2023, the complaint was reported, citing a memo sent to the executive committee of the NFL’s management council. In the memo, the NFL warned that any player who followed the union’s advice and faked an injury would be violating the collective bargaining agreement. Tretter, in a podcast in July 2023, spoke openly about the contractual problems that runners faced. Tretter said:The Arbitrator upheld the Management Council’s complaint in its entirety and determined that Mr. Tretter’s statements violated the CBA by unduly encouraging players to feign injuries. As a result, he prohibited Mr. Tretter and the union from such actions in the future.
NFL Statement
Tretter’s comments were cited in the arbitrator’s decision. In 2023, several high-profile running backs, such as Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs, were in contract disputes with their teams. Both players reached one-year agreements with their teams in 2023, before securing more lucrative contracts in free agency the following year. Barkley signed a multi-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles, while Jacobs signed a long-term contract with the Green Bay Packers. This decision is the latest to be discovered by Torre, who also revealed a January arbitration decision regarding a 2022 complaint filed by the NFLPA, where it alleged that NFL teams were colluding to restrict or limit guarantees in quarterbacks’ contracts after the Cleveland Browns signed Deshaun Watson to a fully guaranteed contract. In that case, the arbitrator ruled against the NFLPA, but indicated clear evidence that the league office encouraged its teams to “reduce guarantees in veteran contracts at the March 2022 annual owners’ meeting”. That decision was made by Christopher Droney. Sources reported that the NFL and NFLPA leaders reached an unusual confidentiality agreement that kept secret the details of that arbitration ruling on the players’ collusion complaint.You need to try to create as much advantage as possible. And that’s the difficult thing with the franchise tag, or being restricted in movement, as it diminishes your advantage, but then you have to find creative ways to build advantage in other places. I think we’ve seen issues… now, I don’t think anyone would say they were fake injuries, but we’ve seen players who didn’t want to be where they currently are, have injuries that prevented them from practicing and playing, but you can’t be fined, and you can’t be punished for not showing up.
JC Tretter
