According to a report from ESPN’s Michael DiRocco, the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) is investigating whether the Jacksonville Jaguars violated the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement.
Said investigation reportedly stems from whether the Jaguars’ decision to call players back to their facility to undergo physicals earlier this month was in violation of the CBA.
Though, one source did tell DiRocco that the Jaguars may have found a loophole in the collective bargaining agreement itself.
“A league source said that it appears the request in the letter sent by Jaguars executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin may not be a violation of the explicit rules of the CBA, though it may violate the spirit of the agreement,” the report read.
Under the current CBA, which became law of the NFL land back in 2011, players are not allowed to take part in team activities prior to the start of the off-season program in April. Whether the NFLPA and NFL believes required physicals are part of said program remains the question here.
If an investigation leads to punishment, it’s possible the Jaguars could be fined or docked at least one draft pick. The likelier scenario here is that the league would let the union handle this, ultimately leading to Jacksonville losing one of its sets of off-season workouts.