For their role in the tampering scandal involving Kirk Cousins and two other players, the NFL has punished the Atlanta Falcons. Cousins was a quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the league has fined the team $250,000 and general manager Terry Fontenot $50,000. They will also take Atlanta’s fifth-round draft pick next year. According to Pelissero, the club also messed with Charlie Woerner, the tight end, and Darnell Mooney, the wide receiver.
To engage in tampering is to contact a prospective signee beyond the league-permitted timeframe. Nearly 2.5 hours after the March opening of the NFL free agent negotiating window, Cousins’ agent announced the player’s signing with the Falcons. Players and their representatives are free to communicate with clubs throughout the negotiation window, but they are not allowed to visit teams in person. A slip of the tongue by Cousins during his first press conference with Atlanta may have piqued the interest of league authorities.
“You look around and you think, ‘Boy, there’s great people here,'” said the cousins. “The football squad isn’t the only one. The support personnel is what I’m referring to. “We got good people here,” I thought to myself as I listened to yesterday’s meeting call, which included our head athletic trainer and our director of public relations.
Cousins’ contract with the Falcons is reportedly $180 million over four years, with $100 million guaranteed, according to the NFL Network. Cousins was a Viking for six years, during which time the team made the playoffs twice and won a game. In April’s draft, the Vikings selected J.J. McCarthy with the tenth overall choice to succeed Kirk Cousins, and they also signed Sam Darnold, a former first-round selection.
