Do hard work and veteran status guarantee big paydays in the NFL? In a perfect world, maybe—but this is the cutthroat league, where sharks swim and players get squeezed. Explosive documents have now exposed the ugly truth: collusion to deny athletes their fair share, locking them out of guaranteed money. Just as fans process this bombshell, another layer drops. Seasoned agents are pulling back the curtain, revealing a trade secret long kept in the shadows. The game isn’t just played on the field—it’s rigged in boardrooms. 

Long-term tense standoffs, which began from contracts like Russell Wilson’s Broncos deal and Lamar Jackson’s Ravens saga, finally make a lot of sense. According to reports from Pablo Torre and Mike Florio, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell backed a quiet effort to discourage teams from giving out fully guaranteed deals. Owners discussed this behind closed doors during their March 2022 meeting. Now, NFL journalist Ari Meirov shared an interview. And it adds a new layer to the conversation, giving athletes a cheat sheet on how to navigate the league.

In the interview posted to X, Meirov spoke with A.J. Stevens, VP of Client Strategy at Athletes First, and also Dak Prescott, the Cowboys’ QB’s agent. And the caption? It read: “Many fans often think 5-, 6-, or 10-year deals mean more money — but @aj__stevens explains why shorter contracts are usually the smarter move for players.” The reason? “Any year after the guarantees run out, it basically becomes a team option.” An eye-opener for sure.

Meirov then asked Stevens directly about this idea. He said, “You kind of mentioned before about doing shorter-term deals… Why is that so important to you?” Stevens did not hold back. He explained, “One of the main aspects of all NFL contracts is they aren’t fully guaranteed. Outside of Deshaun Watson’s, there aren’t long-term, fully guaranteed deals.” He added that after the guarantees end, it’s basically up to the team whether to keep the player or cut ties, and rarely does it ever work out in the favour of the players.

Stevens pointed out that most NFL players have a short window to earn big money. “Because ultimately, these guys aren’t playing 15, 20 years in the NFL,” he said. He emphasized how shorter deals help players sign earlier and more often. “You want to try and give yourself an opportunity to hit a third contract while they’re still in the prime earning years of a player.” His advice? Stack shorter deals to keep leverage and get more guaranteed money along the way.

This advice becomes even more relevant as evidence grows showing that veteran players are being stiffed in the pockets. It is also suggestive that even the NFLPA is not strongly backing veterans like Wilson when it comes to protecting guaranteed money. 

Russell Wilson called a “w—” and shortchanged

New details have emerged in a collusion case involving the NFL and NFLPA. Although they haven’t released the documents publicly, Pablo Torre and Mike Florio revealed key findings this week. The ruling reportedly names players like Russell Wilson, Lamar Jackson, and Kyler Murray as directly affected. The situation traces back to contract negotiations and the league’s stance on guaranteed money.

In a video shared on X, Torre explained how Russell Wilson’s deal with the Broncos was impacted. “The most interesting part is the fact that the new co-owner of the Broncos, Walmart CEO Greg Penner, forwarded Denver’s final contract offer to Russell Wilson to two of his fellow members of Broncos ownership. That he did with the following message: Quote, ‘If we can get this done, Broncos general manager George Payton feels very good about it for us as a franchise and a benchmark it sets versus Watson for the rest of the league.’” That message confirmed the Broncos’ focus was on setting a league-wide standard that would force veterans to settle for less.

Not only did the franchise use Wilson as an example, but they also insulted him. Torre also revealed text messages involving NFLPA President J.C. Tretter. He said, “What I can now report is that J.C. Tretter, in a series of text messages that he sent to the then-executive director of the union, DeMaurice Smith, repeatedly insulted Russell Wilson. At one point, he used an expletive that I will not say here. Tretter also called Russell Wilson a quote-unquote ‘w—-.’” However, this goes beyond petty name-calling.

The full picture came together in March 2022, during the NFL owners’ meeting. Arbitrator Christopher Droney confirmed that the NFL Management Council told all 32 teams to limit guaranteed money in veteran contracts. This direction came with full approval. “There is little question that the NFL Management Council, with the blessing of the Commissioner, encouraged the 32 NFL Clubs to reduce guarantees in veterans’ contracts at the March 2022 annual owners’ meeting,” Droney wrote. That line pointed straight to Commissioner Roger Goodell.

The league’s motivation was clear. They warned teams to avoid handing out contracts like the Browns gave Deshaun Watson—fully guaranteed deals. The league told front offices to steer clear of similar agreements that favored players, even if those players missed entire seasons due to injury. Veteran players became the examples of a bigger power play. The contract game shifted, not because of cap space or performance, but because of a league-wide message from the top.