In 2022, the NFL Players Association filed a grievance alleging that the league and its member clubs colluded to restrict or limit guaranteed player contracts.
'Guaranteed money’ details how much of a player’s contract they are guaranteed, the amount of money they will get no matter what. If they are cut or released, they will receive that money, and the team will be responsible for paying it out.
The NFL rarely does guaranteed contracts. And in the wake of the Cleveland Browns signing Deshaun Watson to a fully guaranteed $230 million deal in March 2022, the NFLPA alleged that there was collusion among clubs to ensure no one else would get a fully guaranteed deal.
One of the causes for the NFLPA’s complaint is Kyler Murray, who failed to secure a fully guaranteed contract in 2022.
In January 2025, the arbiter on the grievance, Christopher Droney, ruled that there was no collusion—and that was that.
At least, it was until June 24, when investigative podcast Pablo Torre Finds Out published what it claims to be the arbiter’s ruling.
The 61-page document allegedly also contains the contents of texts between Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwell and then-general manager Steve Keim over Murray’s deal.
Kyler Murray getting a fully guaranteed contract was a ‘nonstarter’
Pablo Torre and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk discussed the document that Torre obtained, one that he claims “billionaire NFL owners and union execs alike do not want you to see. It's a 61-page treasure trove that unveils 'gory details’ about how football really works.”
The document details the failures of Murray, Lamar Jackson, and Russell Wilson to secure fully guaranteed contracts following Watson’s landmark deal.
In PFTO’s 61-page document, Bidwell and Keim allegedly were determined not to give Murray the payday he wanted.
The document reads:
Prior to the March 2022 owner meeting (and after the Watson contract was announced), Mr. Bidwell texted Mr. Keim, apparently referring to Mr. Murray: “We are going to load up this contract with so … many incentives to earn the real money.”
Incentives are more like objectives here. Murray’s deal famously included a clause (later removed) that required him to spend four hours per week studying film, implying that he didn’t take his job seriously (according to CBS Sports). If Murray wanted his money, he had to do his homework.
Bidwell and Keim also got their way. Murray signed a $230.5 million contract, but only $103.3 million of the total is guaranteed. And the final two years of his deal (2027 and 2008) have zero guaranteed money, meaning the Cardinals can cut him with a minimal salary cap hit.
The document that Pablo Torre Finds Out also allegedly contains conversations between Keim and Bidwell.
Mr. Keim responded, referring to Mr. Watson’s then recently announced deal, “Why the Browns felt so compelled to pay Watson like that is baffling.”
Mr. Bidwill testified at the hearing that Mr. Keim “made sure [Mr. Burkhardt] understood we weren’t doing that,” referring to a “fully guaranteed, big contract.”
Murray’s agent, Erik Burkhardt, allegedly testified in this document that the Cardinals “made it very clear to me for months that it—like the fully guaranteed Watson deal market was a nonstarter for them.”
Burkhardt explained that “ultimately, he did sign a deal that wasn’t fully guaranteed due to the—I would say the sandbox he was, essentially, forced to play in.”
Cardinals and Chargers Owners Chat
The document that Pablo Torre Finds Out also allegedly has an interaction between Dean Spanos, the owner of the Los Angeles Chargers, and Michael Bidwell.
On July 22, Mr. Spanos (the Chargers’ owner) congratulated Mr. Bidwill on the contract his team signed with Mr. Murray. The text exchange was as follows:
- DS: Congratulations on signing Murray!
- MB: 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.
- DS: Your deal helps us for our QB next year
- MB: 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 relatively “low.”
No Collusion, But ‘Concerted Action Was Contemplated’
As ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler summarizes, Droney didn’t award any damages when he dismissed the NFLPA’s demand in its entirety, but the arbiter found that the NFLPA showed “by a clear preponderance of the evidence that concerted action was contemplated and invited at the March 2022 owners meeting."
"There is little question that the NFL Management Council, with the blessing of the commissioner [Roger Goodell], encouraged the 32 NFL clubs to reduce guarantees in veterans' contracts at the March 2022 annual owners meeting,” wrote Droney.
Droney concluded that the teams “did not join in such a collusive agreement and did not act in accordance with one as to the three quarterbacks named in the initial arbitration demand or to other veteran players."
Kahler adds: "Contacted by ESPN, the NFLPA declined to comment, and the NFL did not respond to comment."