It you can’t please ‘em, silence ‘em.
The Arizona Cardinals, who have faced multiple reports in recent months generated by the comments of disgruntled former employees, have reportedly been using non-disclosure agreements to ensure that, once workers exit the organization, they won’t talk about things they witnessed or experienced.
Via Kyle Odegard (a former Cardinals employee himself) of SportsCasting.com, the Cardinals have offered cash payments to a “large number of outgoing employees” in exchange for signing confidentiality agreements.
Per the report, the team has extended the offering of confidentiality agreement to “mid-tier and lower-level employees,” which is a new trend that has emerged since the eruption of reports critical of the team and owner Michael Bidwill.
“The offers have come at an irregularly high frequency compared to previous years, as the perceived goal is to minimize any more damage to the club’s reputation,” the report contends.
Mary Jo White, one of the NFL’s go-to external investigators, recommended in the aftermath of the forced sale of the Panthers by team founder Jerry Richardson that the league should curb the use of NDAs, which can become an impediment to reporting potential misconduct to the league and/or cooperation with investigations arising from such complaints. It’s unclear whether the league ever acted on that advice.
Right or wrong, businesses routinely use NDAs. The employees get something of value (money, usually) in return for refraining from talking. They have the right to reject the offer and to retain the ability to blab.
The key becomes ensuring that they get value to which they weren’t already entitled. It’s also helpful to run the agreement by a lawyer before signing it. In some cases, the silence might be worth a lot more than the company has offered.
