The NFLPA Says the Broncos and Cowboys Colluded to Keep Dez Bryant's Price Down
Photo Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
Dez Bryant has already told Cowboys fans that he won’t show up to any team activities unless he gets a long-term deal. The deadline for such a deal is tomorrow, and if a long-term agreement isn’t reached by then (also between the Broncos and DeMaryus Thomas), the NFLPA says they’ll pursue bringing collusion charges against the Cowboys and Broncos.
“The union says it has credible information that the Cowboys and Broncos have had conversations about the negotiations of long-term deals for franchise wide receivers Bryant and Thomas, and the CBA grants the union the right to discovery in the case of a credible collusion claim.
According to a source, Cowboys executive vice president/COO Stephen Jones told Bryant during a recent conversation that he’d had a conversation with Broncos GM John Elway about the negotiations, which the union believes would constitute a violation of the CBA’s anti-collusion rules.”
The idea here, according to Tom Ley at Deadspin, is that the Broncos and Cowboys “agreed to keep their respective offers within the same price range so as not to drive up the market price for either receiver.” That’s a big deal. And yeah, it’s a bit weird that the NFLPA will only bring the charges up if a deal isn’t reached for Bryant and Thomas. It’s a combination of strong-arming and a “no harm no foul” point of view. But anything that gets the Cowboys into trouble, while straining their relationship with the star player, is a good thing.
