Schaub Calls on NFL Stars to Visit Saudi Arabia as Power Play in CBA Negotiations

In a strategic and eyebrow-raising move, former Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub - who has re-entered the race for NFLPA executive director - has urged elite NFL players to consider visiting Saudi Arabia as a bold leverage tactic in discussions with the league.

In an article co-written with NFL reporter Jason Cole and published on GoLongTD.com, Schaub suggests that names like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Micah Parsons, T.J. Watt, and Cam Heyward should take the trip. He believes the message this sends to team owners would be powerful: that players have alternative paths and international partners ready to shake up the status quo.

Schaub’s argument is deeply rooted in the financial stakes of the upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement, which he projects could be worth $800 billion. He points to past CBA deals - specifically those struck in 2011 and extended in 2020 - that have already cost players approximately $25 billion in lost revenue. Without substantial pushback, he warns, another decade-long deal might result in losses of $40 billion more.

Intriguingly, Schaub draws a parallel to the Saudi Public Investment Fund's $925 billion LIV Golf venture, suggesting that a similar financial commitment could serve as a critical counterbalance to owner power. He emphasizes that the players’ leverage is their ability to threaten - not through strike, but through creating alternatives that upend the league’s monopoly.

As Schaub frames it, this is more than a negotiation tactic - it’s a call to reshape league dynamics. With NFL team valuations soaring and owners dominating negotiations, he argues it’s time for players to assert power and secure their long-overdue share of revenues, opening the door for potential Saudi involvement in the US’s biggest sport.