NFL investigating Eagles over breaching tampering rules in $37,750,000 Saquon Barkley free agency deal
The $37.75 million blockbuster signed by Saquon Barkley might get the Philadelphia Eagles in trouble. There is a fine line in signing free agents before the league new year begins (which every team does) and tampering, and the NFL has reason to believe there might have been a bit of illicit behavior in this signing.
Barkley agreed to a three year, $37.75 million deal that could be worth over $46 million. The signing won't be voided no matter what, but the Eagles could face some other punishments from the league if they're found guilty.
NFL reporter Dan Graziano of ESPN reported that the league was looking into it:
"Per a league source, the NFL is looking into potential tampering by the Eagles and the Falcons related to the free-agent signings of Saquon Barkley and Kirk Cousins."
Lumped in with the blockbuster Barkley deal, Kirk Cousins' massive deal (four years and $180 million) is also being investigated. It's not often that a team is found guilty of tampering, but there are now two teams being looked into and it's only day two of official free agency.
Teams that have been penalized over NFL's tampering rules
There are two notable examples of tampering in the NFL, with teams being smacked by the league for breaking the rules. The Miami Dolphins are the biggest and most recent example of this.
They courted Tom Brady a while back in free agency before he eventually signed in the state with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The NFL found that they had tampered, suspending team owner and making them forfeit last year's first round pick.
The worst part is that they were fined for tampering with a player they didn't even sign. They illegally tried to get Brady and failed and then lost a first-round pick because of it. They were also fined.
In 2015, the New York Jets, the other example of this, were fined $100,000 for their tampering with New England Patriots cornerback Darrelle Revis. Tampering is a newer phenomenon in the NFL, and not many teams have been found guilty of it yet. Will either the Falcons or Eagles join these two infamous clubs?