NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith encouraged agents to 'collude' on contract offers in an effort to prevent teams from limiting salaries due to the league's reduced cap space in 2021, according to ESPN's Dan Graziano.
Smith reportedly told the agents to expect the 2021 season's cap to be close to a $180 million "floor," per Graziano. The NFL and NFLPA negotiated these terms, and the caps for 2022 and 2023 are also expected to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic due to revenue losses.
Smith encouraged agents to push back on teams cutting their players for cap purposes and to consult one another (and the NFLPA's cap department) about free-agency offers, per Graziano.