Report: NFL, NFLPA agreed to pause collusion litigation indefinitely following January ruling

The NFL and NFLPA agreed to pause “everything” in regard to litigation following January’s collusion ruling, according to NBC’s Mike Florio. This report comes after the NFLPA announced its decision to seek an appeal six months after the ruling.

“The pause, per the agreement, ends whenever one of the two sides wants it to,” according to Florio. “By choosing to file an appeal of system arbitrator Christopher Droney’s January 14, 2025 ruling, the NFLPA has unpaused the process.”

Florio’s report states that the case is now able to move forward. A three-member appeals panel will consider the ruling following arbitrator Christopher Droney’s January ruling that there was not sufficient evidence of collusion by NFL owners. This was in regard to allegations that executives league executives were in the ears of team owners in an attempt to reduce guaranteed money for veteran talent.

Evidence was produced in a 2024 hearing that showed the teams did not act upon encouragement from the league’s Management Council. Even in victory, it hid the 61-page document showing that from the public eye before Pablo Torre, with the help of Florio, uncovered it.

Because the two parties agreed to keep the findings of the collusion case a secret, the NFL has largely been silent on the matter. However, Florio reported that he expects the full texts will be released by both based on the recent appeal. Florio has been outspoken on the matter in some of his recent work.

“The league’s ongoing silence is not surprising,” Florio wrote. “The ruling, despite the victory, makes the league look not great. It confirms the longstanding suspicion that ownership meetings are ‘collusion meetings.’ Also, the victory makes the Commissioner and the Management Council seem weak and ineffective. They wanted the owners to collude, and the owners defied the directive.”

A part of the findings from that document discovered that the NFL encouraged teams to reduce guarantees in veterans’ contracts at a March 2022 meeting. The meeting happened just days after the Cleveland Browns signed quarterback Deshaun Watson to a five-year, fully-guaranteed, $230 million contract. It was also just two years after the NFLPA attempted to make all player contracts fully-guaranteed as part of its Collective Bargaining Agreement.

As the NFL gears up for the 2025-26 regular season, the unpause to the litigation has made way for the appeal. It remains to be seen when or, or if the entire 61-page document is released to the public.