Last year, the NFL won a collusion grievance over the NFL Players Association. The war started when quarterbacks like Lamar Jackson and Russell Wilson failed to sign fully-guaranteed contracts like Deshaun Watson’s five-year, $230 million 2022 deal with the Cleveland Browns. The NFLPA eventually exercised its right to appeal to a three-judge panel. But the league cannot celebrate its victory just yet for two reasons…

First, the delay might only be helping the players vying for such a deal. And second, as Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio revealed yesterday, the league may have won the war, but they still lost a hefty financial battle.

According to Florio’s latest report, the NFL wanted the NFLPA to reimburse roughly $14 million in attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in defending against the collusion grievance regarding guaranteed contracts. The understanding comes from the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Its policy mentions that “the System Arbitrator shall order the payment of reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs by any party found to have brought such an action or to have asserted a defense to such an action without any reasonable basis for asserting such a claim or defense.” But that’s where things get interesting.

Did the NFLPA have a “reasonable basis” for making its claim back in June 2025? To understand this, let’s go back to the league’s one strategy to prove the NFLPA wrong.

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The union’s former NFLPA executive director, DeMaurice Smith,  had claimed that “Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, told [Smith] that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell asked Mr. Kraft to talk with other owners about not agreeing to large, fully-guaranteed contracts.” However, two years ago, Droney found that the conversation never happened. That’s why the league won its defense.

On January 26, 2026, arbitrator Christopher F. Droney, however, rejected the NFL’s efforts for reimbursement. According to him, except for the evidence mentioned above, the union did, indeed, have a reasonable basis for going against the NFL.

Consequently, the NFLPA is not required to pay the NFL roughly $14 million or any sum as a reimbursement. When splitting the amount among owners, it would have amounted to about $437,500 per owner. But that’s not the only case where the league and the team owners could fail further.

How the NFL is still losing as everyone awaits the appeal decision

For one, the NFLPA can still win the appeal. How, you ask? The case was closed on the basis that all reasons stood for the union to go against the league except for one. As such, the three-judge panel set to decide on the appeal might vote for the union over the NFL.

Adding to the fact is that the league was already denied its right to force the union to cover the legal fees. It might not single-handedly change the outcome, but it might influence the final decision. Even if the NFL wins, the delay in the hearing itself is a losing game for the league.

Any players looking to sign a fully-guaranteed contract like Watson have an advantage. In fact, any veteran who has signed a contract during the relevant window was included in the list. One way or another, the players may win. But if the NFLPA prevails, all players who were affected by the collusion will see daylight. The financial consequences could be crippling for the league. Already, the arbitrator has presented one piece of evidence against the league.

What the league really did about the fully guaranteed contracts

From page 9 of the 19-page ruling, “The NFL maintains that Mr. Smith’s allegation was false, the NFLPA knew it was false, and Mr. Smith’s testimony at the evidentiary hearing was perjurious.” But here’s where the league itself is caught red-handed…

During his research, the arbitrator found that the NFL urged teams to reduce fully guaranteed contracts during a March 2022 meeting. The teams didn’t heed the directive, though. Sure, the denials aren’t accounted for, but it still puts the NFL in trouble.

However, so far, the union’s failure to weaponize that collusion evidence resulted in scrutiny. It culminated in the resignations of NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell and NFLPA chief strategy officer JC Tretter. And all everyone else can do till then is await the court’s decision on the union’s appeal.