For many sports viewers, a good agent is one who makes great deals happen between a team and the player. But that is just a part of the whole picture. Having a good agent isn’t just about getting big money; it’s also about protecting the player from unwanted clauses that might hurt him later on. And especially in a league like the NFL, where injuries are common, a smart agent is necessary. After all, it is he who will secure the player’s future and read between the lines to potentially help save millions. Todd France is one such agent.
Known for representing players like Dak Prescott, Derrick Henry, and Aaron Donald, Todd is pretty experienced, to say the least. After all, it was he who finalized the four-year, $160 million contract extension for the Cowboys‘ quarterback in 2021. And while many may not know, he protected Dak from one of the earliest cases of the NFL and owners’ collusion. The reason for the collusion? Reducing the amount of guaranteed money given to players. As revealed in a report by journalist Pablo Torre.
Writer Brandon Loree, while writing about the ‘collusion’ report and the importance of smart agents, talked of Todd France. Referring to the time, Todd did not let Dak sign the extension until he had removed an undesirable clause. “Todd France is highly detailed, as seen with the first mega deal for #Cowboys Dak Prescott (2021), where he ensured that a fine clause was not included in the contract language to protect Prescott’s guaranteed money,” he wrote in the tweet.
The “collusion” report from @PabloTorre of the NFL highlights the importance of having a knowledgeable agent for player protection. Something I highlighted in March.
Todd France is highly detailed, as seen with the first mega deal for #Cowboys Dak Prescott (2021), where he… pic.twitter.com/Ph2kPGOw3R
— Brandon Loree (@Brandoniswrite) June 25, 2025
Loree also uploaded a video of Todd from what looks like an ‘Athletes First‘ (a player management firm) podcast. In that video, we can see them talking about how athletes like Dak can go about practising and playing while not having to worry about their contract. All because of the work the agents do. We can also see Todd describing the deals that he made on behalf of Dak and how much he trusts Todd. “He knows that we’re gonna be on every detail because he knew about the franchise tag designation and how we strategically added that at the end,” he said.
Todd also gave a second instance of Dak trusting him during his 2021 extension. He mentioned how he asked Dak Prescott to be patient while negotiating a clause that could potentially void his guarantee, while Dak wanted to sign it anyhow. “I told him like we’re fighting over this one particular word and he is telling us, you know, don’t worry about it, it doesn’t matter. It was like him being fined essentially, and the guarantees could void if that happened. And he was like, Todd, I’m never getting it. I don’t care. Just let’s sign it. I’m done with this, let’s go. And I like had it like literally like be strong and be like no you need to just hang out,” he said.
Eventually, Dak Prescott did wait out, and he will be glad he did. It was in January 2022 that he was fined $25,000 by the NFL for his comments after the Cowboys’ playoff loss. And if he had not waited, it would have been this fine that would’ve voided his entire guarantee. But as it turned out, Dak wasn’t the only one who would have clauses that would void their guarantees. But as the trend started increasing, there was a lawsuit against the owners and the NFL. Mentioning how they were colluding to reduce the guarantees to the players.
Shock report shows collusion between NFL and team owners
As fans and players were resting and preparing themselves for the 2025 season, a massive bombshell dropped on Tuesday. A 61-page report from journalist and podcaster Pablo Torre, extending on the collusion between the NFL and the team owners. It gave us a peek behind the 2022 lawsuit. It is alleged that the collusion was to press down guarantees of high-priced veteran contracts. What makes this more controversial is that such a scheme would be contradictory to the ‘collective bargaining agreement’.
While an independent arbitrator did not find any evidence of collusion, Torre’s report suggested that it did happen. In this report, Torre suggested that there was, in fact, coordination by multiple team owners, the NFL Management Council, and even commissioner Roger Goodell. In the now-revealed ruling from January, the independent arbitrator Christopher Droney himself pointed out this coordination. “There is little question that the NFL Management Council, with the blessing of the Commissioner, encouraged the 32 NFL Clubs to reduce guarantees in veterans’ contracts at the March 2022 annual owners’ meeting,” he said.
Guaranteed contracts are something that the players’ association has been fighting for. Naturally, it was opposed by the league. The Browns, however, were the first to give Deshaun Watson a guaranteed contract. While the result of that did not end well for the Browns. It is also believed to be the start of the grievance against collusion. Since then, we can observe a trend of teams trying to include clauses that can void the guarantees. One of the apparent recent victims of this trend is Shemar Stewart, who was drafted by the Bengals.
Torre’s report delves into the 2024 hearing that looked into whether NFL owners secretly agreed during their closed-door annual meeting to not let the Deshaun Watson contract situation repeat itself. While Droney did acknowledge some sort of coordination and suggestion by the teams, which was encouraged by the league. He did not find that the 2024 hearing proved by “clear preponderance” that the teams acted on those suggestions.
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