As the Mike Vrabel-Dianna Russini scandal continues to unfold, there has been speculation from NFL insider Mike Florio and others that the New England Patriots may try to get Russini to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Florio has argued that Russini speaking out about the alleged affair can only hurt Vrabel and potentially be the final straw that leads to his removal as head coach of the Patriots.
One legal expert, however, doesn’t think an NDA agreement will be enough to end this saga.
Legal Expert Pours Cold Water on Mike Vrabel-Dianna Russini NDA Theory
Sports and entertainment attorney Michael McCann shared his thoughts on the possibility of Russini signing an NDA on WEEI’s “Rich and Ken with Ted Johnson.”
Initially, he explained that NDAs are sometimes used in situations like this.
“That would be a non-disclosure agreement. It would be enforceable,” McCann explained. “She’s an adult. If she signs some sort of agreement saying I will not disclose other materials about whatever they did, that’s a contract. It’s basically a contract at that point. … It’d essentially be paying somebody not to talk and that’s not uncommon in law; those agreements do exist.”
If Vrabel and the Patriots do offer an NDA to Russini, McCann estimated that it could be worth “millions” of dollars. However, McCann questioned whether an NDA actually makes sense in this case.
“I’d be surprised if it turns out that that’s the case,” McCann said. “I’m not saying it’s impossible, but I’m not sure if it’s also a good idea. … What happens two years from now if Mike Vrabel is fired, what happens to the NDA? I assume it’s still enforceable, but there are a lot of weird attributes to that.”
Even if Russini stays silent, the scandal still won’t go away because the New York Post, TMZ, and other outlets are still digging up new information and photos seemingly daily.
“Some of these disclosures aren’t from them. How about that photo from six years ago in a bar? Where is that from? You can’t buy silence of the world,” McCann explained. “There’s other people that have stuff that wouldn’t be governed by that agreement.”
To McCann’s point, photos and videos from a 2021 boating trip in Tennessee that showed Vrabel and Russini together when she was seven months pregnant have only added fuel to the controversy. New photos, videos, and details continue to surface, which is a major reason why the scandal has yet to die down.
It likely only makes sense for the Patriots to sign Russini to an NDA if they feel she’s going to share damaging info that would lead to Vrabel’s ouster as head coach. But to McCann’s point, even if Russini signs an NDA and never speaks, TMZ could drop another bombshell that ultimately costs Vrabel his job anyway.
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It’s also worth noting that The Athletic is still conducting an internal investigation into Russini’s reporting. It’s unclear if The Athletic will release any of its findings once the investigation concludes, but that also wouldn’t be bound by a hypothetical NDA.
There’s also a money question that McCann flagged.
“Why are the Patriots paying for her [to sign an NDA]? Why wouldn’t it be Vrabel?” McCann asked. Some have assumed that Patriots owner Robert Kraft would open up his wallet and pay a potential settlement to make this story go away, especially after he tried to kill the photos of Vrabel and Russini before they were published, but McCann makes a good point.
It remains to be seen if Russini will share her side of the story or if she will stay silent. She has lost the most in the aftermath of the scandal, as she resigned from The Athletic last month and remains under investigation.
Vrabel, on the other hand, isn’t under investigation by the NFL since the league has deemed this a personal matter, and the Patriots have publicly supported him even when he stepped away from the team on Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft to enter counseling alongside his family.
