NFL tampering rules: What to know amid reported Eagles and Falcons probes

Two of the biggest signings in NFL free agency reportedly are under investigation by the league.

The NFL is looking into the Atlanta Falcons' signing of former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins and the Philadelphia Eagles' signing of ex-New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley over potential tampering violations, according to multiple reports on Thursday.

The reported probes come after some eyebrow-raising comments made by Cousins and Penn State football coach James Franklin this week.

Cousins, during his introductory press conference with Atlanta on Wednesday, seemed to imply he had contact with members of the Falcons organization the day prior -- before free agency officially began.

“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.”

ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio reported that the Vikings "were surprised" by Cousins' comments.

“Due to the NFL’s review, we are unable to provide information or have additional comment," the Falcons said in a statement Thursday.

Franklin's comments, meanwhile, came at Penn State's spring media day on Tuesday. Franklin, who coached Barkley at Penn State, detailed how Eagles general manager Howie Roseman recruited the star running back to Philadelphia.

“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 kind of his sales pitch to him, was not only the Philadelphia Eagles and that but obviously the connection with Penn State and the fan bases as well,” Franklin said.

ESPN reported Wednesday night that the Giants had not reached out to league over Franklin's comments.

The Eagles have denied impermissible contact between Roseman and Barkley, according to ESPN. Barkley, during his introductory press conference with the Eagles on Thursday, said Franklin "misinterpreted" the situation, adding that he received the team's sales pitch through his agent.

What are the NFL tampering rules?

NFL free agency unofficially kicked off with a legal tampering period at noon ET on Monday. At that time, players and teams were allowed to begin negotiating and agreeing to deals but only through agents.

Teams and players were not allowed to have direct contact or make deals official until 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday when free agency officially opened. So, if Cousins did speak with Falcons staffers on Tuesday and Roseman was directly recruiting Barkley, those would both be in violation of the league's tampering rules.

There are some exceptions to the rules: teams can have early contact with their own pending free agents and released players are also free to sign with teams before free agency begins.

What are the NFL tampering penalties?

A team found in violation of the league's tampering rules could be fined and/or docked draft capital.

In 2016, the Kansas City Chiefs were punished by the league after being found to have engaged in improper contact with pending Eagles free agent wideout Jeremy Maclin. The contact took place prior to the start of the 2015 free agency period.

The Chiefs were fined $250,000 and docked two draft picks -- a third-rounder and sixth-rounder. Head coach Andy Reid was fined $75,000 and then-GM John Dorsey was fined $25,000 as well.

In 2022, the Miami Dolphins were stripped of a first-round pick and third-round pick after owner Stephen Ross and vice chairman/limited partner Bruce Beal were found to have violated tampering rules in conversations with quarterback Tom Brady and the agent of head coach Sean Payton. Brady and Payton were both under contract with other teams when the improper contact was made by Miami.

Ross was fined $1.5 million and handed a six-week suspension while Beal was fined $500,000 and temporarily banned from league meetings.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.