Perhaps I was looking at collusion from the wrong side of the fence. Either way, at least I am not the only one that felt weirdness going on:

Aaron Wilson Twitter:
Lot of agents using C word, collusion, when discussing free agency patterns and trends. Very tough to prove, and it's a buyers' market
I also think the rookie wage scale is having a big impact and it is too soon to define a clear pattern. We know rookies are now dirt cheap. We know premier players will get paid huge still. But is the the middle-tier and veteran guys that are really getting squeezed these days.