When pointing out that, if the Patriots had done what the Falcons had done the Patriots would have suffered a far greater punishment, some will respond by saying the Patriots are repeat offenders.
Well, the Falcons are, too. However, both times they’ve broken the rules in the past decade, they’ve gotten a slap on the wrist.
In 2015, they lost only a 2016 fifth-round pick for getting caught using fake crowd noise at home games. They also were fined $350,000, and Rich McKay was suspended from the Competition Committee for three months.
This time around, it was a 2025 fifth-round pick and a $250,000 fine — along with a $50,000 fine for G.M. Terry Fontenot — for tampering with three different players during the 52-hour negotiation window.
Meanwhile, the 49ers had a clerical error in their salary cap accounting. And they suffered a greater punishment than either of Atlanta’s infractions. For the $75,000 mistake, the 49ers lost a 2025 fifth-round pick and had their 2024 fourth-round pick downgraded by four spots.
The 49ers’ violation had no competitive impact. They remained under the cap, and the league found no ill intent in the making of the accounting mistake.
I know, I know. The Falcons only made travel arrangements. That’s the official version. I choose not to buy it, because it conflicts with what Kirk Cousins said on the day he signed the contract.
The Atlanta punishment was always going to be driven by the quality of the investigation. We don’t know, and won’t know, how seriously the NFL explored the facts. We don’t know, and won’t know, whether it was just a matter of accepting self-serving accounts at face value or the kind of I’m-the-captain-now zeal that the Patriots experienced in #Deflategate.
Regardless, there’s something wrong with this picture. The draft-pick consequence for a $75,000 clerical error shouldn’t be worse than the punishment for cheating with crowd noise or for tampering with three different players.
It proves yet again that the NFL is inconsistent when it comes to the application of its rules, and that it makes decisions based not on precedent but situation.
Twice since 2015, the Falcons have gotten a break. Earlier this year, the 49ers got the shaft.
