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Pablo Torre broke a massive NFL story this week, and is now claiming that the league is 'monitoring' his media appearances.
Torre, who has reported extensively on Bill Belichick's relationship with Jordon Hudson, managed to obtain a 61-page ruling from an independent arbitrator in response to an NFLPA grievance filing over alleged collusion in the league.
The grievance claimed that the NFL Management Council, a group of league executives working with the approval of commissioner Roger Goodell, encouraged all 32 teams to collude against players by limiting contractual guarantees.
Arbitrator Chris Droney said there was 'little question' that the Management Council did encourage franchises to reduce guarantees, following the fully guaranteed, $230 million contract Deshaun Watson has handed by the Browns.
Ultimately, Droney dismissed the NFLPA's claim - as he found that clubs themselves did not engage in collusion - though his ruling remained a secret until Torre published it on Tuesday.
Now, the ex-ESPN reporter believes the NFL is watching him closely.
Pablo Torre has claimed the NFL is 'monitoring' him due to his reporting on a collusion ruling
According to the ruling, the alleged collusion scheme all began in response to the doomed $230 million contract the Cleveland Browns awarded quarterback Deshaun Watson in 2022
'I would say that as the NFL's monitoring my media appearances, which they are...' , he said on the Dan Le Batard Show, via Awful Announcing.
'Look, Dan, I just need to stress that this is a document that neither the league nor the owners nor the union wanted out,' he continued. 'They fought extremely hard.'
Torre went on to explain that longtime NFL reporter Mike Florio, who runs ProFootballTalk, was not able to obtain the document himself. Florio was part of Torre's eponymous podcast this week as the pair reported out the findings of the ruling.
AN NFLPA spokesman has declined comment to Daily Mail, while an NFL spokesman has not responded to questions about Goodell's possible role in the alleged scheme.
The union alleged in its System Arbitration in October of 2022 'that the collusive agreement of the NFL precluded three other quarterbacks – Russell Wilson, Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray – from fully guaranteed contracts after the Watson contract.'
All three quarterbacks saw significantly less guaranteed money in their subsequent contracts than Watson had in March of 2022.
Murray's $230.5 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals contained only $160 million in guarantees, while just $185 million of Lamar Jackson's $260 million deal with the Baltimore Ravens was guaranteed in March of 2023.
The NFL Management Council works with the approval of commissioner Roger Goodell
Remarkably, Jackson saw very little interest from other teams despite being the league's MVP just a few years earlier.
The ruling also includes text messages between two team owners: the Cardinals' Michael Bidwill and the Los Angeles Chargers' Dean Spanos.
'Your deal helps us for our QB next year,' Spanos wrote to his supposed rival after Murray re-signed in Arizona.
'I think many teams will be happy with it once they have a chance to review,' Bidwill responded. 'Cleveland really screwed things up, but I was resolved to keep the guaranteed relatively 'low.'
The NFL's collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expressly forbids collusion between teams.
