What's Going On At The NFLPA?

Today marks exactly six weeks until kickoff.

The defending champion Philadelphia Eagles will host the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday Night Football to ring in the 2025-26 NFL season.

NFL fans have waited patiently since February’s Super Bowl, and crisp autumn Sundays with buffalo wings and NFL Red Zone (which ESPN may acquire) can’t come soon enough.

There is one organization that could use some extra time, though: the NFL Players Association.

According to ESPN, the labor union is facing its “worst crisis in the NFLPA’s 68-year history.”

What’s going on at the NFLPA?

Here’s the concise breakdown:

A Detailed Timeline Of Events

A complete timeline with some important context:

June 24, 2025: Investigative journalist Pablo Torre, who hosts the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast, published a 61-page arbitration decision from January 2025. An arbitrator ruled on a two-year collusion grievance — filed when DeMaurice Smith was the Executive Director of the NFLPA — related to multiple NFL quarterbacks not receiving fully guaranteed contracts after the Cleveland Browns offered Deshaun Watson a $230M deal.

The arbitrator dismissed the union’s claim of collusion but, according to The Ringer, revealed that the NFL’s management council, with approval from Comissioner Goodell, encouraged teams to collaborate “to reduce the amount of guaranteed money offered to players.”

So what’s the big deal?