Whether the NFLPA's collusion investigation involving the Denver Broncos and Dallas Cowboys was launched as result of a conversation between Cowboys COO Stephen Jones and franchise tagged wide receiver Dez Bryant may wind up being a big point of contention and a potentially vital piece of evidence before all is said and done as a recent ESPN report suggests that should neither Bryant nor Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas sign new long-term deals prior to Wednesday's deadline, the NFLPA will pursue collusion charges against both franchises.
"If Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas don't sign long-term contracts with their respective teams by Wednesday's deadline for franchise players to do so, the NFL players' union plans to move ahead with collusion charges against those teams, a source close to the situation told ESPN.
"The NFLPA informed the Dallas Cowboys and the Denver Broncos on Monday that they need to preserve any emails, phone records, texts and records of other communication between the two teams, according to the source."
Considering Bryant's increasingly "chaotic" behavior reportedly has the Cowboys brass concerned and, further, a deal unlikely and that Thomas has reportedly denied the Broncos offer of a deal that would pay him over $12 or $13 million per season, it seems that collusion charges are essentially a foregone conclusion at this point assuming ESPN's report is accurate.
In the end, Thomas and Bryant may not have any incentive at all to sign on the dotted line prior to Wednesday's deadline, as ESPN suggests that the NFLPA believes that should the charges prove successful, Thomas and Bryant would be entitled to "treble damages," tripling the value of Calvin Johnson's deal, which currently stands as the largest wide receiver contract on the market and has repeatedly been pointed to as Thomas and Bryant's starting point in negotiations.
Johnson signed a seven-year, $113.45 million deal with $48.75 million guaranteed with the Detroit Lions prior to the 2012 season. The Cowboys and Broncos have both contended that Johnson's contract does not reflect the current market and was a product of a pre-rookie wage scale world.
It seems the NFLPA believes it has "credible evidence" of collusion at this point, specifically in the form of Jones' conversation with Bryant.
"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," ESPN reports.
