The NFL handed down a tampering punishment to the Falcons connected to their signing of quarterback Kirk Cousins.
The league attempted to crack down on tampering last offseason when the Cardinals were sanctioned for rules violations in connection with their hiring of head coach Jonathan Gannon. The Cousins case represented an even greater opportunity for the NFL to make a statement.
An investigation into the Falcons for their pursuit of the free agent quarterback was opened shortly after Cousins inked a deal with the team in March. It lasted long enough for Atlanta to avoid punishment before April’s draft.
The NFL announced the conclusion of the investigation Thursday. The league is stripping the Falcons of a 2025 fifth-round pick while fining the team $250,000 and fining GM Terry Fontenot $50,000.
Here’s a closer look at what the NFL found and why the investigation into the Falcons was launched.
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Falcons tampering charges, explained
Multiple comments made after Cousins officially agreed to sign with the Falcons hinted at potential tampering violations by Atlanta.
Yet the investigation did not find conclusive evidence of “contact prior to the negotiating window,” NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported. The violations found were “logistical” in nature, including making travel arrangements before they were allowed. That’s why the punishment isn’t as severe as onlookers may have anticipated.
Teams aren’t allowed to contact free agents until the legal tampering period begins. This year, that start time was Monday, March 11, at noon ET. Cousins’ agent, Mike McCartney, announced the agreement with the Falcons just before 2:30 p.m. ET.
That in itself is not evidence of a tampering violation. In fact, numerous free agents — including D’Andre Swift, Christian Wilkins and Josh Jacobs — agreed to deals before Cousins.
But Cousins had been connected to the Falcons for days by that point. And comments made by the veteran quarterback himself seemed to reveal that conversations between his representatives and the franchise might have begun before the legal tampering period.
Cousins said he spoke to the Falcons’ head athletic trainer before the window opened, and he also indicated that he spoke to director of player personnel Ryan Pace and recruited WR Darnell Mooney.
The investigation found that the Falcons committed violations during their pursuits of Cousins, Mooney and Charlie Woerner.
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The clearest evidence of a violation appeared to come when Cousins revealed in his introductory press conference that TE Kyle Pitts reached out to him weeks before his signing. That followed up on a report by Pro Football Talk that Cousins and Pitts discussed a potential number swap before the legal tampering period.
“No club, nor any person employed by or otherwise affiliated with a club, is permitted to tamper with a player who is under contract or whose exclusive negotiating rights are held by another club,” according to NFL rules.
Pitts is affiliated with the Falcons, and Cousins was, by all indications, still under contract with the Vikings when the two supposedly spoke.
A player tampering with another player isn’t always such a clear-cut case. If a player tweeted eyeball emojis at another player who requested a trade, it would be stunning to see a tampering investigation launched by the NFL. What Pitts did certainly sounds a bit more on the nose. Combined with Cousins’ own admissions, the Falcons were thought to be facing potentially serious consequences from the NFL but didn’t end up receiving severe penalties Wednesday.
Other NFL tampering cases
Tampering investigations have surfaced a handful of times in recent years, including once last year.
A quiet investigation into the Cardinals was brought to light just ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft when the league announced a swap of draft picks benefiting the Eagles after Arizona tampered with then-Philadelphia defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon during the franchise’s head coaching search.
The NFL came down hard on the Dolphins in 2022 for trying to pair Tom Brady with coach Sean Payton while the two were under contract. Miami was stripped of first- and third-round picks, and owner Stephen Ross was fined $1.5 million.
The Chiefs lost third- and sixth-round picks for tampering with WR Jeremy Maclin in 2015, with coach Andy Reid and GM John Dorsey also receiving small fines.
The NFL also investigated the Eagles for allegedly tampering with RB Saquon Barkley before signing him in March but found no violation.
Kirk Cousins contract
Cousins agreed to a four-year, $180 million contract with the Falcons in March. The deal contains $100 million in guaranteed money.
The veteran is set to count only $25 million against the salary cap in his age-36 season, though that figure is set to rise considerably as his contract progresses. Because a large portion of the deal isn’t guaranteed, however, the Falcons could have an easy way out after 2026.
Atlanta’s selection of Michael Penix Jr. made Cousins’ future with the franchise a talking point even before he’s even stepped on a field in a Falcons uniform. Penix is already 24, so Cousins is under pressure to play at the level he did in Minnesota if he wants to last the duration of his contract in Atlanta.