An off-the-cuff remark by Penn State football coach James Franklin had the Philadelphia Eagles playing damage control after signing free-agent running back Saquon Barkley to a three-year, $37.75 million contract that includes $26 million fully guaranteed at signing.
Barkley’s college coach with the Nittany Lions was asked about his former player’s good fortune earlier this week and told reporters that Eagles general manager Howie Roseman spoke to Barkley during the legal negotiating period and pitched the star RB on the synergy between the Eagles and Penn State fan bases.
That kind of contact is not permitted and teams are only allowed to engage with agents, not the players themselves during the negotiating period.
"For him now to come back and be able to play within the state, in Philadelphia, he said that was one of the first things that Howie said to him on the phone as part of his sales pitch to him was not only the Philadelphia Eagles and that but obviously the connection with Penn State and the fan base as well,” Franklin said.
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, who has a legal background, picked up the faux pas which if true, is clearly out of bounds, according to the NFL’s voluminous rule book.
The Eagles’ denied the allegation on Wednesday night to ESPN and Barkley claimed Franklin “misinterpreted” the situation.
“Coach Franklin, I think he kind of misinterpreted it,” Barkley said."The truth was the sales pitch of how many Penn State fans are Philadelphia Eagles fans, that was through my agent [Ed Berry]. My agent told me that."
Nonetheless, the NFL is now reviewing whether the Eagles and Atlanta Falcons violated tampering rules during the legal negotiating window through a league spokesperson.
The Falcons agreed to a monster contract with four-time Pro Bowl quarterback Kirk Cousins on Monday.
The case against Atlanta seems stronger because Cousins inadvertently confirmed tampering at his introductory press conference on Wednesday.
“There's great people here. And it's not just the football team,” Cousins said. “I mean, I'm looking at the support staff. Meeting -- calling, yesterday, calling our head athletic trainer, talking to our head of PR I'm thinking, we got good people here. And that's exciting to be a part of."
By league rule Cousins wasn't permitted to speak to anyone with the Falcons before 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
The Eagles’ explanation is essentially the adult version of the Telephone Game in which the original unfiltered information is modified as it’s passed from person to person as it’s handed down the line.
What is notable is that one NFL source from the New York side told SI.com’s Eagles Today that Philadelphia’s interest in Barkley was well-known throughout the league and dated back to last year when the Eagles were hoping the Giants would not put the franchise tag on Barkley.
The problem for the league is there is widespread wink-wing tampering and has been for years with all 32 teams engaging in it. The dirty little secret is that the foundation of many of the contracts agreed to during the legal-negotiating window started in Indianapolis at the Scouting Combine.
Think of the purposeful blind eye as sort of a detente built off mutually assured destruction otherwise.
What the league is focused on officiating is specific-rule infractions like Arizona’s illegal contact with Jonathan Gannon in the days after the Eagles NFC Championship Game win or Andy Reid’s flirtation with Jeremy Maclin with the Kansas City Chiefs when K.C. lost a 2016 third-round pick and 2017 sixth-round pick for contacting Maclin directly during the negotiating period.
The Gannon issue launched 1,000 conspiracies in the basements and bedrooms of the Delaware Valley with many Eagles fans clinging to the belief that the former defensive coordinator cost Philadelphia Super Bowl LVII and his planned successor, Vic Fangio, with underhandedness in concert with the Arizona Cardinals.
The actual mistake by the Cards was the failure to adhere to league rules and waiting until after the Super Bowl to contact Gannon about an eventual interview. Fangio, then a consultant with the Eagles, had already agreed to become the DC in Miami on the day of the NFC Championship Game.
The Cardinals sent the Eagles their 2024 fifth-round pick as well as swapped the 2023 66th overall pick for the Eagles’ 94th as penance for what was improper communication with Gannon.
In both those cases, the Eagles pursuing punishment factored into the NFL's action, according to an NFL source.
When it comes to the Eagles and the Barkley situation, it’s hard to believe that a veteran GM like Roseman would make personal contact with Barkley during the negotiating window.
That said at least one separate NFL source speculated that the Eagles may get dinged by 345 Park Avenue and it might be a compilation penalty for past transgressions and complaints.
“Don’t forget Vic," the source said referring to Fangio, who left the Dolphins after one year to take over the Eagles' defense this season. "More than a few believe there was something off there and the Eagles might be viewed as getting a little too brazen with this stuff.
"The league might be looking to set an example."
More must-reads: