At a time when rampant tampering is occurring regarding players who will become free agents on Wednesday, the league has distributed a memo to all teams reminding them of one specific aspect of the tampering rules.
PFT has obtained a memo sent to all teams on Friday regarding the procedures for granting players permission to shop themselves to a new team via trade. The memo emphasizes that permission must be secured in writing from the team currently employing the player.
“Under no circumstances should a new club rely upon any written or oral representation by a player or his agent that he has received permission to enter into discussions for a trade for contract,” the memo states. “Nor should a new club rely upon a letter from the employer club to the agent or player granting such permission since employer clubs typically reserve the right to withdraw permission at any time, and may have already done so. Permission must be received directly from the employer club.”
It’s unclear whether this was a routine reminder, or whether the memo arises from a specific incident that has occurred in recent weeks. If it’s the latter, don’t be shocked if someone gets disciplined for something that every team does, every year.
