Be very surprised if that message is ever acknowledged publicly. With owners gathering in Minneapolis for their spring meetings, don’t be surprised if they’re all told that making public tampering allegations in an effort to improve their collection of draft picks will be frowned upon. ![]() That it was just a way to keep people from asking too many questions about the tampering with Gannon - and about whether it might have truly disrupted his work in preparation for Super Bowl LVII and, in turn, about whether it possibly undermined the integrity of the most important game of the year. Then, once others began to realize that the resolution potentially becomes a precedent that could be used to their advantage, the league had to start spreading the word that it’s not a new procedure. The best way to keep that from happening was to let the teams work it out, and in turn to announce it minutes (literally) before the start of round one of the draft. In other words, the league wanted the Gannon tampering to not be a big deal. The former Indianapolis Colts quarterback, who is entering Year 5 of retirement after hanging up his cleats at age 29, reported for duty in full Civil War regalia after the San Francisco 49ers. Andrew Luck was on his way to having a comeback career for the books until he suddenly and unceremoniously retired from the league at the young age of 29, arguably the beginning of his prime. The league, which either didn’t realize or didn’t care that the effort to brush the Gannon tampering under the rug would prompt other teams to try to get what the Eagles got, quite possibly has sent the message to the Colts, and perhaps to other teams, that the Gannon outcome was not intended to provide a tampering treasure map. Lost and/or overlooked in most assessments of this situation is the fact that last month’s bizarre resolution of tampering by the Cardinals with former Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon created a very real incentive for teams to cry foul when they believe they’ve become the victims of tampering. Per Holder, Irsay personally called Commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss the situation. John Keim of reported in 2022 (it went largely unnoticed) and in 2023 ( it was definitely noticed by the Colts) that the Commanders’ wide-net search for a quarterback in 2022 included a call about Luck.Ĭolts owner Jim Irsay was upset. Of course, it was that lit the fuse - twice - regarding potential tampering. (As explained last night, there was/is a simple way to investigate this.) Holder takes it one step farther, explaining that an actual determination has been made that the Commanders “never spoke to Luck or anyone in his immediate circle.” ![]() The Post report created the impression that the situation would go nowhere because there was no way to prove that the Commanders had contacted retired Colts quarterback Andrew Luck or someone in his camp regarding a potential unretirement in 2022. Stephen Holder of reports that the situation “ has been resolved to the Colts’ satisfaction.” Through little more than 12 hours, the prevailing narrative regarding the Colts’ tampering claims against the Commanders pivoted from, per the Washington Post, a lack of hard evidence to, per, the Colts being content with the outcome. It quickly has become something sufficient happening to get the Colts to drop it. In August 2022, the Dolphins got docked two draft picks, including a 2023 first-rounder, for tampering with Tom Brady.It started as a recognition of insufficient evidence. If any team gets caught trying to contact Luck, they could potentially get hit with a big punishment. This means that teams are NOT allowed to contact Luck unless they go through the Colts first. When Luck retired in August 2019, he still had three years left on his contract and if he ever comes back to the NFL, his contract will be reinstated and the Colts will own his rights for those three remaining years. ![]() The reason it's tampering for a team to call Luck is because the Colts still own his rights. Not only did Irsay send out the tweet, but he also called NFL comissioner Roger Goodell because he wanted to make sure that the league looked into any possible tampering violations committed by the Commanders, according to ESPN. If any NFL Team,attempted to contact Andrew Luck (or any associate of him)… to play for their Franchise - it would be a clear Violation of the League’s Tampering Policy.- Jim Irsay May 8, 2023
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