CHAPMAN LAW REVIEW Citation: Ashton E. Stine, Unsportsmanlike Conduct – Calling a Penalty on the NFLPA and NHLPA’s Duty of Fair Representation for Entering Players 24 CHAP. L. REV. 303 (2020). --For copyright information, please contact
[email protected]. CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY | FOWLER SCHOOL OF LAW | ONE UNIVERSITY DRIVE | ORANGE, CALIFORNIA 92866 WWW.CHAPMANLAWREVIEW.COM Do Not Delete 5/17/2021 9:05 AM Unsportsmanlike Conduct – Calling a Penalty on the NFLPA and NHLPA’s Duty of Fair Representation for Entering Players Ashton E. Stine I. INTRODUCTION The 2019 National Football League (“NFL”) season saw Michael Thomas of the New Orleans Saints shatter the league’s single-season receptions record.1 But a look at the situation that transpired in the summer before this record-breaking campaign shows how close it was to not happening.2 Thomas, like an increasing number of young, superstar athletes, was unhappy with the terms of his rookie contract3—a contract that was provided to Thomas by the New Orleans Saints after he was selected as the forty-seventh overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.4 Thomas’ initial deal with the Saints was predetermined by the rookie compensation restrictions in the 2011 collective bargaining agreement agreed upon by league owners and the National Football League Players’ Association (“NFLPA”).5 As a second-round pick, Thomas was given a four-year, $5.1 million contract of which $2.6 million was guaranteed.6 After being selected to the Pro Bowl following the 2017 and 2018 J.D. Candidate 2021, Chapman University Dale E. Fowler School of Law.