In Friday’s arbitration ruling involving Terry McDonough, the Cardinals are ordered to pay him $3 million, but there’s a twist. McDonough has to pay the Cardinals $25,000 for their legal fees and $20,000 for breaking the confidentiality agreement.
Typically, in a public court case, McDonough wouldn’t have to cover the team’s legal costs. But the NFL’s arbitration process is different, favoring confidentiality.
Regarding the breach of confidentiality, McDonough’s interaction with a member of the media led to the $20,000 penalty.
However, there was no actual exchange of emails between them. McDonough sent emails, but they were never opened or acknowledged by the recipient.
McDonough refrained from opening the emails because he respected the confidentiality rules of the arbitration process. He didn’t want to exacerbate any potential issues for McDonough or risk getting him into trouble. Despite the penalty, McDonough may now consider checking the emails to see their content.
