National Football League

Report: Demaryius Thomas contract held up by collusion probe

Published Jul. 13, 2015 1:34 p.m. ET

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By Steve DelVecchio

Dez Bryant is not the only star NFL receiver who is seeking a long-term contract in advance of the July 15 franchise tender deadline. The Denver Broncos still have yet to agree to terms with Demaryius Thomas, and that’s the way it could stay for a while.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Friday that the NFL Players Association is investigating whether there is evidence that there was collusion between the Cowboys and Broncos before they made their offers to Bryant and Thomas, respectively.

Since Bryant and Thomas are two of the best wide receivers in the game, the NFLPA suspects that the Cowboys and Broncos had contact with each other about the two contracts in an attempt to keep the market lower for the two players. That type of discussion would be illegal under the rules of the collective bargaining agreement.

Jason Cole of Bleacher Report added on Monday that the ongoing collusion investigation could prevent Thomas from working out a deal with Denver by Wednesday’s deadline. The issue appears to be that neither Bryant nor Thomas has been offered anything close to the contract Calvin Johnson signed in 2012, which included $48 million guaranteed.

We recently learned that Bryant has informed the Cowboys that he will not be attending training camp and is willing to miss regular season games if he doesn’t have a long-term deal in place by Wednesday. Given how far apart the two sides are, a holdout seems inevitable. The same could be true for Thomas in Denver.

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