NFL investigating whether Philadelphia Eagles violated tampering rules with Saquon Barkley: CBS Sports
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The NFL is investigating whether the Philadelphia Eagles violated the league's legal tampering window rules in their pursuit of running back Saquon Barkley, according to CBS Sports.
CBS Sports Jonathan Jones reported the league is looking into both the Eagles' signing of Barkley and the Atlanta Falcons' pursuit of quarterback Kirk Cousins.
ESPN first raised the question about whether the Eagles spoke with Barkley before the official start of free agency.
CBS Philadelphia has reached out to the Eagles for further comment, but we have not heard back.
On Monday, multiple outlets, including CBS Sports, reported the Eagles and Barkley agreed to a 3-year, $37.75 million contract hours into the legal tampering period.
Two days later, the Eagles officially announced the three-year deal with Barkley on Wednesday. But comments from Penn State University head football coach James Franklin suggest Roseman and Barkley talked before NFL free agency officially started, which would not be allowed.
"Then, obviously, being a Pennsylvania kid who chose to stay home and come to Penn State. Our hit rate with players that have decided to stay home from the state of Pennsylvania has been really good," Franklin said on Tuesday, March 12, at a spring football press conference at Penn State, one day before the official start of free agency. "I'm talking about the top players in the state that have chose to stay here. We can go on and on and on whether it is Micah [Parsons], whether it is Saquon and then some of the guys that we are able to get back on the rebound, is also going to be interesting for us as well moving forward. But for him now to come back and be able to play within the state in Philadelphia, he said that was one of the first things that Howie [Roseman] said to him on the phone as part of his sales pitch to him was not only the Philadelphia Eagles and that, but obviously the connection with Penn State and the fan bases as well."
During the NFL's 52-hour legal tampering period, teams can negotiate contracts with the agents of pending free agents but not the players themselves. Players can agree to deals through their agents but can't officially sign contracts until the new league year begins. Teams can only directly talk to players during the legal tampering period if the player represents himself.
Ed Berry, of CAA, represents Barkley.
Before his time in the NFL, Barkley starred at Penn State University under Franklin, setting several school records and nearly winning the Heisman Trophy Award.
Following college, Barkley was selected No. 2 overall in the 2018 NFL draft by the New York Giants, where he played for six seasons before becoming an Eagle this week.
Barkley grew up in the Lehigh Valley in Coplay, Pennsylvania, and went to Whitehall High School.
Barkley's 3-year, $37.75 million contract has $25.5 million guaranteed at signing. The contract will have a cap hit of $3.9 million in 2024 but will increase over the next two seasons.
What happens if NFL teams tamper?
If the NFL were to investigate the Eagles and determine they tampered, they could lose draft picks or be fined.
Last year, the Miami Dolphins lost their 2023 first-round pick and 2024 third-round pick after the team's owner was suspended following an investigation for violating the integrity of the game.
The first part of the investigation centered on league tampering rules with former NFL quarterback Tom Brady and Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton, who was then the head coach of the New Orleans Saints.
The Eagles were the beneficiary of a tampering investigation before the 2023 NFL draft with the Arizona Cardinals, centering on former defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon.
Philadelphia swapped third-round picks with the Cardinals in the 2023 NFL draft, which allowed them to move up 28 spots. Arizona also received the Eagles' 2024 fifth-round pick to settle the investigation.
The incident stemmed from Gannon receiving a call from Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort after the Eagles won the NFC championship game about becoming Arizona's head coach, which violated NFL rules.
Nearly a decade ago, the NFL took away two draft picks from the Kansas City Chiefs and fined the team $350,000 for breaking the league's tampering policy after the team signed former Eagles wideout Jeremy Maclin in 2015.