There is a situation in our league and i was looking for some outside opinions.
Our league is a redraft league with 1 keeper allowed, at the cost of the pick 3 rounds earlier than his previous year’s round. It is also possible in our league to trade the next season’s picks ( only the next seasons, not further ahead, and the highest possible tradeable pick is the 4th round )
in 2024 Team A has drafted Michael Penix Jr in the 15 round and was kept for a 2025 12th round pick. Team B had drafted Brock Bowers 9th and was kept for a 2025 6th round pick
In 2024 after a horrible start, team A went into rebuild mode, selling off players for 2025 picks. Team B on the other hand was a buyer and ended up winning the chip
After the 2025 draft, team A ( with a stronger team since he had extra draft capital ) decided to trade Penix and a 4th to team B ( who had a weaker squad since he traded away this year’s picks ) for bowers. This trade obviously benefits both teams since it allows team A to maximize his championship window and allows team B to acquire assets for 2026.
The issue however according to certain league members is that the trade is collusion because is was ‘‘handshake agreed’’ on during the offseason, and was officiallized after the 2025 draft ( when the 2026 picks came in to play )
To me this is a fair deal as both parties get what they want, team A getting a stronger squad in 2025 in exchange of 2026 assets, and team B obviously looking to be a stronger contender in 2026
However a vocal minority is complaining that it is collusion since the trade was agreed on before the draft and should have been announced before the draft and thus constitutes collusion. Personally I don’t think that but i would like an outside opinion on this