Eric Reid challenges NFL CBA, demands investigation and invalidation of agreement
Free agent safety Eric Reid is challenging the recently approved NFL collective bargaining agreement, arguing that the finalized version isn’t the same document players approved.
Reid announced the challenge via Twitter on Monday, posting a letter that he sent, with his attorneys Mark Geragos and Ben Meiselas, to the NFLPA and its executive director DeMaurice Smith.
Reid is demanding an investigation and a revote while retaining the same legal counsel that advised him in his collusion grievance against the NFL.
My lawyers @meiselasb and @markgeragos sent a letter to the @NFLPA and @DeSmithNFLPA this morning demanding answers why language in CBA was changed after vote and demanding a new vote and investigation. Read the letter and compare CBA we voted on vs. CBA posted on NFLPA website. pic.twitter.com/1F2LapcQE2
— Eric Reid (@E_Reid35) March 30, 2020
Letter calls for ‘immediate invalidation’ of CBA
In the letter signed by his legal counsel, Reid’s attorneys point to language in a March 5 version of the CBA that was circulated before players voted that differs from language seen in the final version of the CBA on March 15 after the NFLPA approved it.
The language refers to benefits for retired players. The letter reads:
“Thus, the new language … states players agreed to reduce benefits to a much larger population of disabled retired players than found in the terms presented during the recent vote. The new language will reduce the benefits of potentially hundreds of families who were not negatively impacted in this way, by the terms found in the March 5 CBA version.”
The letter includes the different versions of the language and concludes with a call for an investigation and for the CBA to be invalidated.
“The only acceptable solution would appear to be the immediate invalidation of the newly passed CBA and for a new vote to be taken so that players have access to all of the contractual language they are voting on,” the letter reads.
Reid not alone
Prior to the player vote, Reid publicly lobbied against the proposed CBA, calling it “a bigger disaster than we could have imagined,” in a March 9 tweet.
I asked my lawyers @meiselasb and @markgeragos to review all 456 pages of the proposed CBA. Attached is their summary. It’s a bigger disaster than we could have imagined pic.twitter.com/sWXJwJw7YA
— Eric Reid (@E_Reid35) March 9, 2020
This is the second claim by a player challenging the CBA alongside legal counsel.
On March 12, Carolina Panthers offensive tackle Russell Okung announced that he filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board charging Smith with violating the NFLPA constitution during CBA talks, confirming an earlier report that he had filed legal action accusing the NFLPA of engaging in bad-faith negotiations.
I’ve retained Peter Ginsberg and his firm Sullivan & Worcester to pursue this claim with the intention of bringing the truth to light. The NLRB charge is further unpacked in the attached letter. 2/2 pic.twitter.com/buYR8xYS3x
— Panther King (@RussellOkung) March 12, 2020
Players approved the CBA on March 15 by a vote of 1,019-959 — a margin of 60 votes. A simple majority was required for the CBA to be ratified.
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