The most imminent question now that looms over Bidwill and the Cardinals organization is what the NFL will decide with regard to Terry McDonough’s grievance with the NFL for Michael Bidwill’s history of workplace malfeasance vis-a-vis his abusive behavior toward former team executives, coaches, staff members and clerical employees.
On the eve of the 2024 NFL Draft, will the NFL drop sanctions on Bidwill and the Cardinals two years in a row?
When the 2023 NFL Draft began last year, the NFL decided that Bidwill and the Cardinals would have to give the Eagles their third-round pick in exchange for the team’s general manager, Monti Ossenfort, breaking NFL hiring policies by secretly speaking with the Eagles’ defensive end, Jonathan Gannon, as the Eagles were getting ready to play the Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
The 49ers were recently compelled to forfeit their 2025 fifth round selection and reposition their 2024 fourth round selection from #131 to #135 due to what was deemed to be an accounting error involving the falsification of payroll statistics at the conclusion of the 2022 season.
Thus, one would assume that the Cardinals would lose at least one, if not more, current and/or future draft picks in light of the outrageous allegations of Bidwill’s workplace abuse that were detailed in Terry McDonough’s grievance with the NFL, the subsequent confirmation of specific examples of Bidwill’s abuses that were listed in lengthy articles by ESPN and The Athletic, and the unusual $3 million in damages that McDonough has received for Bidwill’s media defamation of him.
As enthusiastic supporters of the Cardinals who are thrilled by the team’s 11 draft selections this year, we must hope that the NFL is not yet ready to punish Bidwill.
If the NFL rules against the draft prior to the draft and the matter is postponed, Monti Ossenfort’s potential acquisition of 2025 draft assets through trades this year may have more relevance.
Alternatively, given the NFL’s decision in Daniel Snyder’s sexual harassment cases, which resulted in a $60 million fine and required him to give Tanya, his wife, control of the team before the Snyders sold it to Josh Harris’ group, could the NFL impose similar sanctions on Bidwill, even though the team would not lose any draft picks in the process?
The idea that the NFL takes into account the seriousness of Bidwill’s mistreatment in the same community may be a stretch.
However, the widespread trauma created by the workplace abuses may make the two circumstances at least somewhat similar, even though they are slightly different in some cases.
However, it would be appropriate if the NFL chose to try calling Bidwill directly on his burner phone in order to inform him of the punishment, once Terry McDonough’s grievance has been decided.
