N-D-A
“NDAs: The Secret Contracts That Protect Power and Bury Truth”
The Good Blog | Written by Candace Goodman
What if I told you some of the world’s most explosive secrets—the kind that could take down billionaires, superstars, politicians, and powerful corporations—are legally buried in plain sight?
They’re not hidden in vaults. Not encrypted on hard drives. Not whispered in underground networks.
They’re locked away by three unassuming letters you’ve probably signed without a second thought: N-D-A.
Non-Disclosure Agreements have become the modern-day gag order, and they’re everywhere—from tech startups to film sets, NFL locker rooms to Wall Street boardrooms. They don’t just silence leaks or protect business ideas. They control narratives, mask crimes, and in some cases, erase entire histories.
Here’s the mind-blowing part: NDAs were never created by lawmakers.
No bill. No vote. No oversight. They grew from backroom legal strategy into one of the most powerful tools in corporate America—and we all just accepted it.
Where Did NDAs Come From?
The NDA didn’t arrive by legislative design. It wasn’t passed by Congress or argued over in public forums. It was born in corporate legal departments in the 1940s and ’50s—first as a tool for national defense contractors and then quickly adopted by tech giants to protect intellectual property.
As capitalism evolved and secrets became currency, NDAs became standard issue.
By the 1980s, Hollywood studios were using them to muzzle actors and screenwriters. By the 2000s, pro sports teams made them part of every contract negotiation. Today, NDAs are embedded in onboarding paperwork, HR settlements, casting deals, endorsement contracts—you name it.
What started as a tool to protect trade secrets became a legal muzzle that favors the powerful, created outside the courtroom and largely unregulated.
The Illusion of Privacy—The Reality of Power
NDAs are marketed as mutual agreements. But let’s be honest: in 95% of cases, they’re one-sided power plays designed to protect employers, celebrities, executives, and institutions—not the people signing them.
Here’s what most people don’t realize:
- NDAs are intentionally vague—using sweeping language like “confidential information” or “reputation harm” to cover everything from project leaks to sexual misconduct.
- They are often non-negotiable, especially in sports, entertainment, and high-paying corporate jobs.
- They can even include clauses that bar you from telling your spouse, therapist, or lawyer about what happened.
You’re not protecting company secrets. You’re often protecting someone’s reputation—or someone’s job—from the truth.
The Scandals They Tried to Bury
Let’s get into the drama. Because where there’s an NDA, there’s usually a scandal.
Harvey Weinstein
For decades, Weinstein’s empire was built on NDAs. Dozens of women signed them after being harassed, abused, or assaulted. These NDAs included financial penalties, non-disparagement clauses, and legal threats that made it nearly impossible to speak out—until the truth finally exploded in 2017.
Stormy Daniels vs. Donald Trump
Paid $130,000 to stay quiet about an alleged affair with Trump, Daniels’ NDA became national news in 2018. The agreement was so loosely structured that parts of it were deemed unenforceable in court. The takeaway? Even sloppy NDAs can be weaponized when money and power are involved.
USA Gymnastics / Larry Nassar
In one of the most horrific sports scandals in U.S. history, several survivors of Nassar’s abuse were forced into settlements that included gag orders—effectively allowing the abuse to continue unchecked for years.
NBA/NFL Locker Rooms
Players have signed NDAs after fights, altercations, even cover-ups involving teammates or staff. These NDAs are framed as “protecting team integrity,” but critics argue they protect brands, not people.
Why NDAs Are Legal—And Why That’s Terrifying
NDAs are enforceable because the legal system treats them like any other contract—if you agreed to it, you’re bound by it. Courts tend to uphold them unless:
- The language is unreasonably broad
- The contract attempts to conceal illegal activity
- The signer was under coercion or duress
But here’s the kicker: NDAs can still be used to discourage reporting crimes, even if the law ultimately sides with the whistleblower. The threat of being sued, fired, or blacklisted is often enough to keep someone silent forever.
Attorney and whistleblower advocate Lisa Banks says it best:
"Even unenforceable NDAs can achieve their goal. It’s not about winning in court. It’s about making you too afraid to speak up in the first place."
What Happens If You Break an NDA?
This is where it gets real.
If you break an NDA, you could face:
- Civil lawsuits for breach of contract, often demanding six or seven figures in damages.
- Forced arbitration, where the company gets to choose the private judge.
- Career sabotage, especially in tight-knit industries like film, tech, and pro sports.
- Crippling legal fees, since many NDAs force the whistleblower to cover the company’s court costs if they lose.
Even if you win in court, the cost of fighting back could ruin you.
So ask yourself: Is the truth worth your entire career?
Why Are NDAs So Common in High-Paying Jobs?
If you’ve ever taken a job in tech, finance, entertainment, or sports and noticed an NDA in your welcome packet, it’s not a coincidence. The higher the paycheck, the tighter the leash.
Justifications include:
- Protecting trade secrets
- Preserving brand integrity
- Preventing negative PR
- Limiting lawsuits and internal leaks
But critics argue it’s really about protecting power, not innovation. Companies don’t want lawsuits, media leaks, or internal chaos—so they preemptively silence anyone with the potential to blow the whistle.
So… Is It Ever OK to Break an NDA?
Yes—but only in very specific cases:
- When reporting a crime: Federal and state whistleblower laws protect you—though the path is messy.
- When exposing public health or safety issues
- If the NDA is ruled unenforceable due to vague or illegal terms
Still, you’ll need a team of lawyers, a stomach of steel, and a high tolerance for retaliation.
The Truth Shouldn't Be a Luxury
NDAs started as a tool to protect ideas. But somewhere along the way, they became a tool to protect people—from consequences. And that's the part they never put in writing.
What’s most chilling isn’t the existence of NDAs—it’s how normalized they’ve become. We accept them. We sign them. We defend them. But when they’re used to hide abuse, silence victims, or erase history, we have to ask: At what cost?
Because the truth doesn’t stop existing just because you’re not allowed to say it.