The recent changes to the Personal Conduct Policy don’t arise completely from the NFL’s misadventures in the Deshaun Watson case.
One change arises in part from receiver Antonio Brown’s short-lived stint with the Patriots in 2019.
After Brown finagled his release from the Raiders, the Patriots signed him. Then, after only one game, Brown was sued for sexual assault and rape. It later came to light that Brown knew of the threatened litigation before signing with the Patriots, but that he did not disclose it to them.
The Personal Conduct Policy now imposes an obligation on all players to disclose potential violations to teams before signing contracts with them.
“In addition, active and prospective players have an obligation to promptly disclose any such incidents to their club or the league office before signing a contract with a club,” the revised policy states.
The Patriots gave Brown a $9 million signing bonus. He was cut after only 11 days, after the lawsuit led to additional reporting, including allegations he attempted to intimidate an alleged victim. The Patriots then declined to pay the first installment of the signing bonus.
The ensuing grievance filed by Brown against the Patriots was later settled. Which implies that the Patriots paid something.
Per a league source, the revisions did indeed result from the Brown case “and a few others.”
The new language of the Personal Conduct Policy will be aimed at ensuring, in the future, any failure to disclose a potential Personal Conduct Policy violation before the signing of a contract would become a conclusive defense to owing the player a dime, if he’s cut after the truth comes to light.