The NFL’s new three-day window in which teams are allowed to legally tamper with players made for an entertaining if not downright wild and woolly Sunday afternoon.
Bam, Ndamukong Suh had an agreement with the Miami Dolphins. Pow, Frank Gore and Byron Maxwell have deals in place with the Philadelphia Eagles. Boom, Devin McCourty was staying with the New England Patriots. On and on it went. It was a little breathtaking and a little baffling because, while teams and players were allowed to enter into discussions, they were prohibited from reaching agreements and signing before the 4 p.m. Tuesday deadline.
It made the whole legal tampering weekend seem like it was governed more by guidelines than rules and the NFL, on Monday, informed teams that it was not amused by illegal legal tampering. In an email obtained by NFL.com’s Albert Breer, it informed teams that:
Clubs were advised of the rules for the three-day negotiating period in PP-23-15 (attached). These rules include limitations such as that a club cannot make an “offer;” or enter into a written or oral agreement of any kind, express or implied, or make promises or representations of any type concerning the terms or conditions of employment to be offered to any Unrestricted Free Agent for inclusion in a Player Contract after the start of the new League Year; or provide assurances of intent as to the future execution of an NFL Player Contract. Clubs were further advised that “Any attempt to undermine the purpose of this negotiating period may be considered conduct detrimental to the League.” At this time, the League office is beginning investigations into a number of reported agreements with clubs. Violations will be dealt with accordingly.
Just why did the NFL write the rule in the first place? The Post’s Mark Maske explains:
The three-day negotiating window was established a few years ago as an attempt to dissuade teams’ front office executives and agents from conducting impermissible negotiations between the NFL scouting combine and the opening of the free agent market. The need for such conversations would be lessened, league officials hoped, if those deliberations could take place legally in the three days before free agency.
It seems like a good idea on the face of it, but, naturally, everyone found a workaround that was either deliberately deceitful or merely expedient. In fairness to the NFL office, keeping teams in line can make herding cats look like a day at the beach. Still, how did no one foresee that, in an age of social media and instant communication, this would happen? As for why the NFL is upset, the unofficial agreements take a lot of the pop out one of its manufactured “news days.” Now, when 4 p.m. EDT arrives Tuesday, there’ll be far less drama and much headlines.
After spending most of her career in traditional print sports journalism, Cindy began blogging and tweeting, first as NFL/Redskins editor, and, since August 2010, at The Early Lead. She also is the social media editor for Sports.
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