After we passed along a report this morning that Bears rookie Alshon Jeffery had chosen to prioritize working out over attending the Rookie Premiere, we heard from a few folks inside the league who said the Rookie Premiere is a mandatory event for the players who are invited to attend.
When we checked with NFL spokesman Greg Aiello, he said the Collective Bargaining Agreement says rookies invited to the NFLPA Rookie Premiere are expected to be there and can’t be at their teams’ facilities.
“Yes, it’s mandatory per the CBA,” Aiello told PFT via e-mail. “No, a player invited to the Rookie Premiere by the NFLPA cannot choose instead to work out at the team facility. He cannot be at the team facility during the Rookie Premiere.”
The NFLPA Rookie Premiere, which takes place May 17-20 in Los Angeles, is an opportunity for some of the league’s top rookies to get exposure and meet with sponsors like Nike, EA and the trading card companies, and most rookies are happy to be invited and want to attend. If Jeffery or any other rookie wants to stay home and work out instead of attending the Rookie Premiere, we’re not sure if anyone would actually try to force him to attend, but any workout he’s doing would have to be separate from the team.