One anonymous NFL executive certainly does not think the tampering punishment levied against the Atlanta Falcons over their courtship of Kirk Cousins is going to dissuade anyone else from doing something similar in the future.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk quoted an anonymous executive on Thursday reacting to the Falcons’ punishment. Atlanta was docked a fifth-round pick and fined $250,000 for impermissible contact with Cousins during the two-day negotiating period prior to the formal start of free agency. In the eyes of the executive, that is a small price to pay to get a jump on the rest of the league when it comes to signing the top quarterback on the market.
Said a high-level executive with another team about the Falcons' tampering punishment: "If I can land the top QB in free agency for a fifth-round pick and $250K, I'll sign up for that any day."
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) June 13, 2024
“If I can land the top QB in free agency for a fifth-round pick and $250K, I’ll sign up for that any day,” the executive said.
The Falcons’ punishment does feel like a slap on the wrist more than anything else. The biggest reason for that is the tampering allegedly came during the so-called “legal tampering” period in which teams can discuss contract terms with agents. Direct contact with players is not permitted, but it is not as egregious as what other teams have done in the past.
Ultimately, the executive is correct. The Falcons will part with the pick and the money and probably won’t mind too much. They got the quarterback they wanted in the end.
