An arbiter in February ruled in favor of the NFL in a grievance that the NFL Players Association, including then-president JC Tretter, encouraged running backs to "exaggerate" injuries to increase leverage during contract disputes.
The ruling made by Sidney Moreland, based on hearings held in 2024, had not been made public until it was revealed by the "Pablo Torre Finds Out" podcast Thursday.
"The Arbitrator upheld the Management Council's grievance in its entirety and found that Mr. Tretter's statements violated the CBA by improperly encouraging players to fake injury. As a result, he prohibited Mr. Tretter and the union from such conduct in the future," the NFL said in a statement to Pro Football Talk. "The NFL did not allege that any individual player ever feigned injury. We are grateful for the arbitrator's thorough review of the evidence and order enforcing the CBA."
The NFL said in a statement to Pro Football Talk that it informed owners and team executives of the ruling at this year's annual league meeting in Palm Beach, Florida.
The NFL filed its grievance on Sept. 11, 2023, and said the NFLPA made the suggestion to running backs in a Zoom meeting. The NFL wanted the union to "cease and desist from such improper conduct."
The Associated Press reported on the grievance in September 2023, citing a memo sent to the NFL's management council executive committee. In the memo, the NFL said that any player who took the union's advice and faked an injury would be violating the collective bargaining agreement.
Tretter appeared on a podcast earlier that year and made comments that were used in the arbiter's ruling. In that appearance on former NFL player Ross Tucker's podcast in July 2023, Tretter spoke openly about the contract issues running backs were facing.
"You need to try to create as much leverage as you possibly can," Tretter said. "And that's the tough thing with the franchise tag, or being restricted in movement, is it decreases your leverage, but then you have to find creative ways to build leverage elsewhere. I think we've seen issues -- now, I don't think anybody would say they were fake injuries, but we've seen players who didn't want to be where they currently are, have injuries that made them unable to practice and play, but you're not able to get fined, and you're not able to be punished for not reporting.
"So, there are issues like that. I don't think I'm allowed to ever recommend that, at least publicly, but I think each player needs to find a way to build up leverage to try to get a fair deal. And that's really what all these guys are looking for, is to be compensated fairly."
Tretter's comments were cited in the arbiter's decision.
Several high-profile running backs were in contract disputes with their teams in 2023, including Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs, who had received franchise tags from the New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders, respectively.
Both Barkley and Jacobs settled for one-year contracts with their teams in 2023 before cashing in during free agency the next year. Barkley landed a multiyear deal with the Philadelphia Eagles and Jacobs a long-term contract with the Green Bay Packers.
The grievance ruling is the latest document to be uncovered by Torre, who last month also published an arbiter's ruling from January on a grievance filed by the NFLPA in 2022 that NFL teams were colluding to restrict or limit guarantees in quarterback's contracts after the Cleveland Browns signed Deshaun Watson to a fully guaranteed contract. In that case, the arbiter ruled against the NFLPA but said there was clear evidence that the NFL league office encouraged its teams to "reduce guarantees in veterans' contracts at the March 2022 annual owners meeting."
That ruling was made by Christopher Droney.
Sources told ESPN's Don Van Natta Jr. and Kalyn Kahler earlier this month that the NFL and senior leaders of the NFLPA struck an unusual confidentiality agreement that hid the details of that arbitration ruling on the collusion grievance from players.