Are the New England Patriots, Kansas City Chiefs, and/or Washington Commanders in violation of NFL rules against tampering?
That accusation surfaced during a NBC Sports Boston discussion about the league’s ongoing free-agency period, where Monday Morning Quarterback’s Albert Breer revealed that all three of those teams were in the hunt for decorated left tackle Ronnie Stanley.
Stanley would ultimately agree to a three-year, $60 million deal to stay in Baltimore – a figure that Breer said was lower than what the Patriots and Commanders offered.
‘Kansas City was right there with them,’ Breer told NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry. ‘So Kansas City and Baltimore were both at around [$20 million annually]. Washington and New England were both over [$24 million annually]. I’m not sure how far they went.
‘Obviously this stuff was spoken about conceptually, I guess is the best way to put it,’ Breer continued. ‘Some free agency may have happened over the weekend.’
Perry immediately piggybacked Breer’s claim: ‘This may have been illegal tampering.’
Wow.
The Patriots made a massive offer to Ronnie Stanley over 24 million per year.
They offered huge money to Godwin and also made a big time play to OT Dan Moore Jr, but missed out on all three.
Still searching for a left tackle and WR 1.
Per: @AlbertBreer ,… pic.twitter.com/86oit0Ixp3
https://twitter.com/SavageSports_/status/1899594584151179617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1899594584151179617%7Ctwgr%5Edfcb6fd583ee9fc8675eee75c23cd49f754f2eb2%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fsport%2Fnfl%2Farticle-14490803%2FNFL-teams-tampering-free-agency.html
Ronnie Stanley decided to re-sign with the Baltimore Ravens for three years and $60 million
At issue is when, exactly, the Commanders, Chiefs and Patriots began negotiating with Stanley’s agent, Roc Nation Sports’ Kim Miale.
Any contact prior to noon EST on Monday would be a violation of NFL tampering rules. Teams are only permitted to contact the representatives of other teams’ free agents on Monday afternoon, Tuesday, and Wednesday morning before the signing period begins on Wednesday at noon.
DailyMail.com has requested comment from the NFL, Patriots, Commanders, and Chiefs, as well as Stanley’s agent, Miale.
Penalties for tampering can vary.
A year ago, the Atlanta Falcons were stripped of a fifth-round draft pick over negotiations to sign quarterback Kirk Cousins, wide receiver Darnell Mooney and tight end Charlie Woerner.
A more serious tampering investigation resulted in the Miami Dolphins being stripped of a first-round pick in 2023 after improper contact with quarterback Tom Brady and coach Sean Payton.
The league probe found ‘impermissible communications’ between the Dolphins and Brady in 2019, 2020 and 2021, as well as more prohibited interactions between the team and Payton in 2022.
Payton has now coached the Denver Broncos for two seasons, while Brady is a Fox Sports commentator and a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders.
‘The investigators found tampering violations of unprecedented scope and severity,’ NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement at the time. ‘I know of no prior instance of a team violating the prohibition on tampering with both a head coach and star player, to the potential detriment of multiple other clubs, over a period of several years. Similarly, I know of no prior instance in which ownership was so directly involved in the violations.’
