The NFL curiously has slammed the door on teams giving equity to players or employees, before anyone ever actually tried to do it. Since posting an item on the issue earlier tonight, we’ve caught wind of two players who were hoping to score a slice of ownership.
Per multiple sources, the representatives of USC quarterback Caleb Williams had been making it known to prospective agents that Williams wants partial ownership of the team that selects him in 2024, if he declares for the draft.
Likewise, a league source tells PFT that Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers attempted to secure equity in his contract discussions with the Jets.
The Jets never had to say “no,” because the league did it for the Jets — and every other team — last week.
It feels like an antitrust violation. And it’s potentially collusion, if giving a player equity is not prohibited by the Collective Bargaining Agreement and if the new rule was passed without bargaining between the league and the union.
Actually, that could be the angle for attacking this. It’s quite possibly collusive on its face. If it was possible to give players equity before the NFL recently changed the rules and if the NFL changed the rules without negotiating with the union, the decision to prevent all teams from giving players equity amounts to collusion.
