The 61-page ruling in the landmark collusion grievance features an unprecedented peek behind the NFL’s curtain, in various ways.
Regarding the 2022 negotiations that culminated in a second contract for Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, the ruling contains a text exchange that directly contradicts System Arbitrator Christopher Droney’s conclusion that the league’s encouragement to collude didn’t take. (Droney, as seen later, disagrees.)
On July 22, 2022 — one day after word of Murray’s non-fully-guaranteed contract surfaced — Chargers owner Dean Spanos texted Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill.
From the document:
Spanos: “Congratulations on signing Murray.”
Bidwill: “Thanks Deno! These QB deals are expensive but we limited the fully guaranteed money and have some pretty good language. Thankfully, we have a QB that’s worth paying.”
Spanos: “Your deal helps us for our QB next year.”
Bidwill: “I think many teams will be happy with it once they have a chance to review. Cleveland really screwed things up, but I was resolved to keep the guaranteed [money] relatively ‘low.’”
As evidence of collusion/coordination among supposedly competing businesses goes, the gun doesn’t get much more smoky than that. If the Chargers and Cardinals (and the other 30 franchises) are truly in competition, why would they coordinate? Why would they care?
Does the board chairman at Coke call the board chairman at Pepsi when Pepsi hires a CEO whose compensation package reverses a potential trend regarding CEO pay? That’s exactly what happened with Spanos and Bidwill.
Droney’s written ruling ignores the obvious import of the coordinator between Spanos and Bidwill. Writes Droney, in the portion of the ruling that systematically dismisses what seems to be important circumstantial evidence of collusion in action, “Neither do texts or emails from owners about contract negotiations show that they were participating in a plan to reduce guarantees. In the text exchange between Mr. Bidwill and Mr. Spanos, Mr. Bidwill recognizes that other teams will be pleased with the fact that the Cardinals kept the guaranteed money in Mr. Murray’s [contract] relatively low, and Mr. Spanos acknowledges that doing so will help the Chargers in upcoming negotiations with their quarterback (Justin Herbert) presumably because they could use Mr. Murray’s contract, rather than Mr. [Deshaun] Watson’s, as a reference point. . . . These communications are more in line with ‘independent response to common stimuli, or mere interdependence unaided by an advance understanding among the parties,’ rather than participation in a collusive agreement.”
Again, do competing businesses in the same industries so casually compare notes about the compensation of key employees? Do they try to do deals that will help the others do better deals?
How was Droney so blind to that?
It should be obvious to anyone with any basic common sense. The NFL “encouraged” (told) them to collude. The communications between Spanos and Bidwill are circumstantial evidence that they did.
And that evidence is now available for anyone and everyone to see.
