THE DAILY BLOVIATION
OBR Newswire Bloviation Header
Good morning, Cleveland Browns fans!
The OBR Daily Newswire is generally not the most popular feature we run on a daily basis. It's really for a smaller group of people who are interested in keeping up with Browns news on and off the field, and are willing to put up with a certain level of world-weary commentary along the way. The latter, unfortunately, will be on display again today, as we learn that the NFL has successfully hidden unflattering news through its proxies, and that Jimmyworld continues its inevitable march towards public funding.
These are, in fact, today's top two stories, neither of which has anything to do with why I love NFL football, and the Browns in particular. There's nothing about the communal joy of banding together to pull for the same team, the incredible displays of athleticism at the highest level, or the hope that better days lie ahead.
NFL, NFLPA, NFL MEDIA HIDE COLLUSION NEWS: The Browns element of this news is tied to the $230 million guaranteed contract that the Browns gave Deshaun Watson in 2022. The massive guaranteed contract didn't sit well with the NFL or other less-horrible teams, and Roger Goodell encouraged teams to keep a lid on guaranteed contracts immediately afterwards during the NFL Owners Meeting.
The NFLPA didn't like this as they wanted the natural effects of supply/demand and internal competitiveness to lead to more Watsonian contracts, not less, so they filed a grieveance regarding collusion between the owners.
My reaction to this is the same as that of an arbitrator. However, my immediate conclusion involved a lot less money, minimal expertise, and a lack of concern about whatever the hell I thought. Essentially, while one suspects that there might have been some collusion between teams, it's challenging to prove, which is where the grievance fell short. The arbitrator found “little question” that the league encouraged teams to limit guarantees, but ultimately ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the teams agreed to collude or acted in concert. Duh.
Per usual, the cover-up is worse than the dubious conduct itself. It took intense reporting by Pablo Torre to uncover the hidden arbitration ruling, which had seemingly been kept quiet for months by the NFL and NFLPA. Even after being exposed by Torre, NFL partners like ESPN, FOX, and, of course, NFL.com and NFL Media didn't write about it. ESPN finally released a report a bit late in the game. CBS covered it, so at least we can point to that, since the OBR has a media partnership with them.
A guy who didn't downplay the story is Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, who wrote at least three stories about it yesterday, unhappy that the something he had worried about for months required an NFL outsider to bring it to light.
That a site like NFL.com kept mum on an embarrassing story isn't exactly a shock, and is the exact thing I was squawking about in the 1990s and 2000s as the NFL and teams moved into the media space to "report on themselves". Having seen how clubs limit access to sites like the OBR while having "exclusive interviews" with their own players over the years, it's easy to see how the powerful use their own media entities to tilt the field towards the "truth" as they want it perceived. I learned during Modell's Betrayal how this unfolded, particularly in the coverage of the fan rebellion, and it has played out as I expected. Again, duh.
Mike Florio can vent as much as he wants, but the parameters of how the system works remain the same. The NFL is worth many billions of dollars and is invaluable to big media networks. They're motivated to position the truth as they want it perceived, and will act to do so.
NFL, NFLPA mum in response to release of collusion ruling - NBC Sports - (nbcsports.com)
Why did the NFL and NFLPA hide the collusion ruling? - NBC Sports - (nbcsports.com)
Arbitrator found NFL encouraged teams to collude regarding guaranteed contracts - NBC Sports - (nbcsports.com)
Leaked Documents Provide Insight Into Contract Talks For Russell Wilson, Kyler Murray & Lamar Jackson - NFLTradeRumors.co - (nfltraderumors.co)
Arbiter - NFL urged clubs to limit guaranteed deals, didn't collude - ESPN - (espn.com)
Mike Florio slams NFL media partners for ignoring collusion scandal - (awfulannouncing.com)
NFL Arbitration Ruling Raises More Questions Than Answers - (frontofficesports.com)
Secret
Shocking NFL secrets have been divulged! To the presses! (Photo: Unsplash.com)
YOUR MONEY AT WORK: I have over $1000 in unclaimed funds I'm trying to recover from the State of Ohio. I have all kinds of forms and crap to fill out to get them, and I had better hurry before the Ohio politicians give away $600 million from that pot to the Browns to build the Jimmyworld domed stadium complex.
The State is close to doing so, as the General Assembly has agreed to hand over $600 million in unclaimed funds to the Haslam Sports Group. This will ostensibly be repaid over 16 years through tax revenues from the development, with the Browns depositing $50 million into escrow. Mike DeWine has final approval over the ruling. Despite a likely lawsuit to protect unclaimed funds holders like yours truly, I fully expect this to happen and have for months.
Again, politicians will do whatever they can to make this type of transfer of public funds to a billionaire seem "free" to taxpayers, although that $600 million, if available, could undoubtedly be bent to other purposes.
And so it goes.
Report: Ohio lawmakers opt for using $600M in unclaimed funds for proposed Cleveland Browns domed stadium in Brook Park - (wkyc.com)
Final state budget includes senate plan to provide $600 million in funding for new Browns stadium in Brook Park - (audacy.com)
Browns may soon get $600 million from unclaimed funds to build dome - (fox8.com)
Ohio lawmakers settle on unclaimed funds to put $600M into new Browns stadium - (news5cleveland.com)
DIONTAE JOHNSON COMES CLEAN, MEDIA REALIZES IT: The assembled news media took a while to digest it, but Diontae Johnson did a podcast last week where he speculated that Kenny Pickett will be the eventual starter at quarterback, and copped to what his thought process was during a tumultuous 2024 season. Johnson's stint with the Browns has begun more productively, as Lane Adkins has revealed, but we'll have a set of headlines recapping what he said on the podcast.
Because I'm all about value, here are the links for your perusal in the penultimate pre-Hiatus Massive Morning Missive:
Diontae Johnson admits he refused to enter a game because he was cold - (usatoday.com)
Ex-Steelers WR Diontae Johnson Explains Several Controversial Moments That Ruined His NFL Career - (steelernation.com)
Browns WR Diontae Johnson makes surprising prediction on who will win Browns QB competition - (cbssports.com)
Diontae Johnson expects Kenny Pickett to win starting job - NBC Sports - (nbcsports.com)
‘I Checked Out Mentally’ -- Diontae Johnson Gets Brutally Honest on Controversial Short Stint With Ravens - (profootballnetwork.com)
Have a good one! GO BROWNS!
Newswire Bloviation Archive