The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals sent a 2012 ruling by Judge David Doty that NFL owners colluded to impose an unofficial salary cap during the uncapped year of 2010 back to the Minnesota Federal District Court. The decision will allow the NFLPA to argue its claim that the dismissal agreement in the 2011 collective bargaining agreement was reached by fraud, according to Daniel Kaplan of the Sports Business Journal.
NFL salary cap collusion case goes back to court
The NFLPA’s claim that the NFL secretly enforced a $123 million salary cap in the uncapped 2010 season once seemed like a settled matter. However, a Federal Appeals Court ruling gave the issue a new lease on life.
It’s not exactly a ruling in agreement with the NFLPA on the matter of collusion. However, it does reopen the case and send the NFL scrambling back to court to defend the current CBA, which once seemed to be a settled matter.
Collusion? Dismissal? What’s this all mean?
Travel back in time to 2010. The NFL was operating without a collective bargaining agreement after owners had opted out of the CBA. That left the 2010 season uncapped, setting the stage for the lengthy lockout of 2011. The Dallas Cowboys and the Washington football team treated the uncapped 2010 season as just that, spending big bucks to beef up their rosters (to the usual results for those two teams).
The NFL frowned upon such behavior and imposed $46 million worth of salary cap penalties on the two teams, enforced over the 2012 and 2013 seasons. The NFLPA took exception, filing a complaint in the wake of the penalties, claiming that the league agreed to an unofficial $123 million cap in 2010. The union sought $3 billion for remedy.
Doty’s decision hinged on the league’s argument that the 2011 CBA barred the union’s collusion case because it included a statement of dismissal, releasing the NFL from all claims prior to the 2011 agreement. The NFLPA argued that the collusion claim was not covered by that agreement because it was not a pending claim at the time.
Just because the case is going back to court doesn’t mean it’s a 20-yard field goal for the NFLPA.
..high hurdle. "Association bears a heavy burden in attempting to convince the district court that the Dismissal was fraudulently procured."
— daniel kaplan (@dkaplanSBJ) June 20, 2014 The NFL released a statement on the decision Friday morning.
As the Court emphasized, today’s decision is entirely procedural in nature. Far from validating the Union’s claim, the Court specifically highlighted the heavy burden that the NFLPA faces in establishing this claim, and we remain highly confident that the claim will be dismissed yet again.
In addition the NFLPA released a statement saying:
“Our union will always pursue and protect the rights of its players. We are pleased that the Eighth Circuit ruled that players have the opportunity to proceed with their claims. Through discovery and a hearing, we can understand how collusion took place. We have notified the NFL of its obligations to preserve all relevant documents and communications.”
So back to court they go, acrimonious statements from spokesmen and attorneys will soon follow. Buckle your chinstrap and pack your lunchpail, football fans and court watchers, the offseason just means it’s legal season in the NFL.
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