The NFL is a copycat league in which trends can become norms overnight if the right people are behind them.
One such trend is fully guaranteed contracts for veterans. That is still not a lead-pipe cinch for top free agents these days, and the former head of the NFLPA says they have current New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson to thank.
After the Cleveland Browns signed the controversial quarterback Deshaun Watson to a five-year, $230 million, fully guaranteed contract in 2022, then-NFLPA president J.C. Tretter was critical of Wilson, a former Super Bowl champion and 10-time Pro Bowler, for settling for below-market deals and not pushing for a fully guaranteed deal.
The decision for Wilson not to demand guarantees in such deals erodes the leverage of not only the top free agents, but all free agents in future negotiations, leading Tretter to call him a “wuss” and “not smart enough” to fight for what he deserved.
Veteran NFL insider Pablo S. Torre reported that Tretter had some strong criticism of Wilson and his actions weakened a collusion lawsuit against the owners, which was subsequently dropped.
From NJ Advance Media:
“What I can now report is that J.C. Tretter, in a series of text messages that he sent to then-executive director of the union, DeMaurice Smith, repeatedly insulted Russell Wilson,” Torre said. “At one point, he used an expletive that I will not say here. J.C. Tretter also called Russell Wilson a quote-unquote ‘wuss.’ Then he said of Wilson, quote, ‘Instead of being the guy that made guaranteed contracts the norm, he’s the guy that ruined it for everyone,’ end quote.”
“To be very clear about this, the reason Russell Wilson didn’t get a fully guaranteed contract is because he’s not smart enough, not strategic enough to push hard enough for it, and not because the owners were colluding against Russell Wilson or Lamar Jackson or Kyler Murray or the players,” Torre said. “J.C. Tretter was blaming the player instead of the owners, and the owners were like, ‘This feels like a very helpful bit of evidence for what we’re trying to prove,’ which is that this case should be dismissed. And by the way, not unrelatedly, the case ultimately was.”
For the record, Wilson signed a one-year, $10.5 million deal with the Giants in March. It’s fully guaranteed and has incentives that, if all are achieved, could pay Wilson over $21 million in 2025.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Ex-NFLPA president blames New York Giants player for hurting push for guarantees
Reporting by John Fennelly, Giants Wire / Giants Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
