When the Cowboys and Redskins had a combined $46 million in salary cap space removed from their budgets in 2012 and 2013, stemming from their move to roll guaranteed money into the 2010 uncapped season, it sparked suspicions that the NFL's other owners had imposed a secret salary cap.
Now the same judge who helped abitrate last summer's Collective Bargaining Agreement will hear arguments in the NFL Players Association's charge of collusion against the league, according to ProFootballTalk.com.
A court date has been set for Sept. 6, one day after the Cowboys and Giants play at the Meadowlands in the season opener.
In May, an abitrator from the University of Pennsylvania ruled that the Cowboys and Redskins had no grounds to appeal their penalties - $5 million this season and next for the Cowboys - except through a lawsuit against their fellow owners, which both teams declined to pursue.
The players union contends that the league engaged in a silent agreement to limit payroll spending to $123 million per team in 2010.
A number of clubs went over that mark, but the Cowboys and Redskins each spent more than $20 million above their closest financial competitors.
