(04-15-2024, 05:11 PM)cland Wrote:

(04-15-2024, 04:01 PM)OG-JAGFAN Wrote: I wonder in the NFL if owners and players do not make "off the record" Type of deals.  LIke you sign this contract, and tons of money and assets come to them in ways not related to football. The old handshake and a wink deal.  These billionaires have top notch accountants that could make those things happen quietly.

Extremely doubtful in my opinion.  At the end of the day in the NFL, the owners are competing against the players for their share of the NFL pie via the labor agreement.  If one of the owners made an "off the record" deal, it's very likely coming out during a labor dispute.

Bigger than that, the NFL exists on an antitrust exception under the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961. "Antitrust Implications: Under the Sherman Antitrust Act, the NFL and its teams are vulnerable to antitrust claims if they unreasonably restrain competition or engage in monopolistic practices."  No owner is going to risk the amount of money they get from their ownership, to slip their star player a couple extra million.
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