NFLPA believes Cowboys, Broncos had contact about wideouts' deals

Cotton

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NFLPA believes Cowboys, Broncos had contact about wideouts' deals

Adam Schefter, NFL

The NFL Players Association is reviewing information to determine whether there was collusion between the Denver Broncos and Dallas Cowboys on the unsettled contractual situations of respective franchise wide receivers Demaryius Thomas and Dez Bryant, an NFLPA official said.

The players' association says it believes the Broncos and Cowboys had contact about each player's contract. The collective bargaining agreement prohibits such contact.

The NFLPA now is trying to determine whether collusion did occur and when to file a potential a claim.

The deadline for both Thomas and Bryant to sign long-term deals is Wednesday.
 

Cotton

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Cowboys, Broncos might have colluded over Dez Bryant, Demaryius Thomas deals

Two of the five remaining unsigned franchise-tagged wide receivers, the Dallas Cowboys' Dez Bryant and the Denver Broncos' Demaryius Thomas, share a lot of similar traits and have figured to land similar long-term contracts at some point.

Now the connection between the two players has deepened, as ESPN's Adam Schefter is reporting that the NFLPA is investigation possible collusion between the Cowboys and Broncos over their unsettled contract situations.

The CBA prohibits teams from discussing these kinds of financial matters over unsigned player, and from the NFLPA perspective you can understand why. The last thing the union wants is two teams discussing financial parameters for long-term offers for their star players. The union wants its marquee players to sign bigger-money deals because what's good for the goose — even with a finite pool of money under the salary cap — is good for the gander.

Confused? Let's say, hypoethetically, the Cowboys would have offered Bryant a seven-year, $100 million deal, and he accepted it. Then Thomas' camp immediately would go to the Broncos and say, "We want at least that," even if the Broncos feel that's way too much money. The Mike Wallace deal has thrown the receiver market out of whack, and really, this offseason the entire position has seen a reshaping among the top contracts with wideouts getting cut, traded or outright released.

Schefter reports that the NFLPA is trying to determine if there was collusion between the two teams and whether to file a claim against them. Under the CBA, franchise players must sign a long-term contract by July 15 or be limited to the one-year tender prior to the following league year, so the clock is ticking.
 

Genghis Khan

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Wouldn't shock me if one of the agents floated the notion to the nflpa to try and scare the team into reaching an agreement asap.
 

Plan9Misfit

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Wouldn't shock me if one of the agents floated the notion to the nflpa to try and scare the team into reaching an agreement asap.
Just like it wouldn't surprise me if collusion actually occurred, as we all know it did when the CBA expired and the league implemented its bullshit contract policy on free agents.
 

DCUDoomsday

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Just like it wouldn't surprise me if collusion actually occurred, as we all know it did when the CBA expired and the league implemented its bullshit contract policy on free agents.
Actually it would surprise me if either team was really that stupid.
 
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Yeah but they have to prove it, I'm sure the NFLPA isn't tapping any phone lines. All they have to say is we didn't talk about anything. I'm sure they won't be polygraphed.
 

P_T

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Yeah but they have to prove it, I'm sure the NFLPA isn't tapping any phone lines. All they have to say is we didn't talk about anything. I'm sure they won't be polygraphed.
Yeah, they would have to have indisputable audio proof that contains specific language. If anything even close to that actually existed, there would be more than a "belief". This is speculative nonsense.


If I were the Broncos and Cowboys, I would counter strike this accusation with a lawsuit claiming defamation... make them show their hand. Prove it or shut the fuck up.
 
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Landry

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Yeah, they would have to have indisputable audio proof that contains specific language. If anything even close to that actually existed, there would be more than a "belief". This is speculative nonsense.


If I were the Broncos and Cowboys, I would counter strike this accusation with a lawsuit claiming defamation... make them show their hand. Prove it or shut the fuck up.
Sort of like the Dez Walmart tape bullshit.
 

Cotton

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Source: Collusion evidence comes from conversation between Dez Bryant and Stephen Jones

Posted by Mike Florio on July 13, 2015, 6:34 PM EDT

Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant and Cowboys COO Stephen Jones already disagree on one topic from one of their recent conversations: Whether Bryant threatened not to show up absent a long-term contract.

They’re likely to disagree on another topic that allegedly was discussed.

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Jones explained to Bryant that the Calvin Johnson contract, which represents the current peak of the receiver market, has no relevance to other receivers because it was driven by the pre-rookie wage scale deal that Johnson signed when he was drafted by the Lions in 2007. And then Jones told Dez, per the source, that Jones talked to Broncos G.M. John Elway about the situation.

Because the Broncos also have a franchise-tagged receiver in Demaryius Thomas, the admission that Jones and Elway communicated about the situation constitutes evidence of collusion.

The Cowboys could not immediately be reached for comment. Given that Jones denied the report that Dez provided an ultimatum during the conversation, it’s safe to assume Jones will strongly deny that he admitted talking to Elway about the receiver market.

Collusion surely happens on a regular basis in the NFL, and it’s easy for teams to justify it. Agents and players can compare notes and coordinate strategies freely. If two or more teams do it, that’s collusion.

It’s also easy to get away with collusion, because most of it happens through verbal communications that can be denied later, if need be. Which is all the more reason for Jones to strongly deny that he accidentally said something to Dez about collusion with the Broncos.
 

boozeman

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Source: Collusion evidence comes from conversation between Dez Bryant and Stephen Jones

Posted by Mike Florio on July 13, 2015, 6:34 PM EDT

Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant and Cowboys COO Stephen Jones already disagree on one topic from one of their recent conversations: Whether Bryant threatened not to show up absent a long-term contract.

They’re likely to disagree on another topic that allegedly was discussed.

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Jones explained to Bryant that the Calvin Johnson contract, which represents the current peak of the receiver market, has no relevance to other receivers because it was driven by the pre-rookie wage scale deal that Johnson signed when he was drafted by the Lions in 2007. And then Jones told Dez, per the source, that Jones talked to Broncos G.M. John Elway about the situation.

Because the Broncos also have a franchise-tagged receiver in Demaryius Thomas, the admission that Jones and Elway communicated about the situation constitutes evidence of collusion.

The Cowboys could not immediately be reached for comment. Given that Jones denied the report that Dez provided an ultimatum during the conversation, it’s safe to assume Jones will strongly deny that he admitted talking to Elway about the receiver market.

Collusion surely happens on a regular basis in the NFL, and it’s easy for teams to justify it. Agents and players can compare notes and coordinate strategies freely. If two or more teams do it, that’s collusion.

It’s also easy to get away with collusion, because most of it happens through verbal communications that can be denied later, if need be. Which is all the more reason for Jones to strongly deny that he accidentally said something to Dez about collusion with the Broncos.
Nice job, Goof Son.
 

Clay_Allison

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It's not collusion to discuss Calvin Johnson as long as you never mention Bryant or Thomas. ;)
 

hstour

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Wasn't Florio the one to report after the GB loss that, "done deal," Marinelli was going to Tampa Bay to be with Lovie?

And didn't he also the one who reported of the Dez video with the "Ray Rice type impact" that never surfaced?

Florio is such a #clickwhore.
 

Cotton

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Wasn't Florio the one to report after the GB loss that, "done deal," Marinelli was going to Tampa Bay to be with Lovie?

And didn't he also the one who reported of the Dez video with the "Ray Rice type impact" that never surfaced?

Florio is such a #clickwhore.
Pretty sure the Dez video was Fisher. Or at least Fisher ran with it. But, your point stands, Florio is a click whore.
 

Cotton

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Report: Collusion case will proceed if Dez, Demaryius don’t get long-term deals

Posted by Mike Florio on July 14, 2015, 11:58 AM EDT

When word first emerged last week that the NFL Players Association has evidence that the Cowboys and Broncos had colluded regarding the long-term negotiations with franchise-tagged receivers Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas, it felt like a leverage ploy aimed at helping get both players negotiate long-term deals.

Apparently, it is.

According to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com, the NFLPA plans to move forward with the collusion investigation if the players don’t sign multi-year contracts before Wednesday’s deadline of 4:00 p.m. ET.

As PFT reported on Monday, the initial evidence came from a phone call between Cowboys COO Stephen Jones and Bryant, during which Jones allegedly said he had talked to Broncos G.M. John Elway about the situation. (The Cowboys still have not responded to a request for comment on the situation, and Jones has not yet otherwise denied the allegation.)

If collusion happened, it shouldn’t matter whether the players get long-term deals. Then again, if they get long-term deals it means they ultimately chose the multi-year package over playing for $12.8 million in 2015. Which means that they’ll be happy with the situation and ready to move forward without causing any extra trouble.

Which will mean that the collusion case was a leverage ploy. If it helps the players get the contracts they want, so be it. It’s far better to make it known before the deadline than after that the NFLPA plans to push the issue. If there was collusion, the Cowboys and Broncos have added incentive to get these contracts resolved.

And if they don’t get long-term deals, it’ll be interesting to see any emails or text messages exchanged by members of the Dallas and Denver front offices.
 

Carp

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Holy shit...so either they have to sign a longterm deal or face an investigation.
 

Cotton

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Holy shit...so either they have to sign a longterm deal or face an investigation.
Keep in mind, it's Florio.
 

Texas Ace

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I really thought this deal was going to get done before the deadline, but now it's pretty clear that it won't.

If they can't get a deal done at this point, and Dez has another Dez type of season, then how the hell are they going to agree to a deal next offseason when the price could be even higher?

I never thought for a second that there was a chance that Dez would leave, but now I think it's possible.

Get the damn deal done already.
 

ravidubey

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Looking more and more like franchise, franchise, draft new WR.

I think the Packers did it right by drafting and signing very good WRs who Aaron Rodgers can make great rather than any single great WR who could hold the team hostage. They are paying 80m for both instead of 100m for just one.

"Elite" WRs want Calvin money, which no one in their right minds should pay. How is it the Patriots get away with signing Gronk for 6y/54m and just 13m guaranteed?

Maybe we franchise Dez and AJ Green's agent sets the market appropriately in 2016 so we can sign Dez long term then.
 
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