The potential legal questions arising from the NFL’s effort to suspend Seahawks cornerback Brandon Browner for drug tests he didn’t take while he wasn’t employed by an NFL team sweep far more broadly than Browner.
Apart from the potential legal rights of other players that have been suspended for not submitting to drug tests while not employed by an NFL team, the situation possibly will shine a light on the issue of paying (or not paying) unemployed players whose names and/or likenesses are used in league products, like the Madden video game franchise.
As one league source explained it to PFT, Browner’s situation could prompt someone (i.e., a lawyer) to explore whether and to what extent players included in the Madden game but not actually employed in the corresponding NFL season are receiving their fair share of the pie.
Regardless of what happens with Browner, his situation has shined a belated light on the general issue of the treatment of unemployed NFL players who are still hoping to become employed by the NFL again.