NFLPA may challenge 160 rookie contracts due to language

The NFL Players Association is considering filing grievances to have about 160 rookie contracts voided after identifying language the players’ union believes violates the collective bargaining agreement.

The NFLPA estimates about 25 or 26 NFL teams have included some form of prohibited language in rookie deals this year, according to ESPN.

“The union has undergone a comprehensive review of rookie contracts and language in those contracts for this year,” NFLPA spokesman George Atallah told ESPN on Wednesday. “The CBA explicitly prohibits players from some of the language that we have seen the clubs attempt to impose in these deals. We are considering all of our options to protect the players and enforce the CBA.”

The NFLPA sent letters to notify the NFL management council of the possible CBA violations.

Some examples provided to ESPN include: clauses that require players to submit to multiple offseason physicals at the team’s request (more than the two that are permitted under the CBA); “automatic repayment” clauses that allow teams to directly withdraw money owed for expenses such as fines, services and tickets from players’ paychecks; language that forces prospective free agents to secure permission from their current clubs before their agents engage other teams in discussions during the pre-free agency “legal tampering” period.