It didn’t take long for the Philadelphia Eagles to reach an agreement with Saquon Barkley once the NFL’s legal tampering period began on Monday, less than three hours into the process. While Barkley was far from the first player to agree on a new contract with a new team, his signing is drawing more attention than others, and it’s not just from Tiki Barber.
According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, the NFL is investigating whether the Eagles violated league policies by signing Barkley.
Officially, Barkley signed a three-year, $37.75 million contract, with $26 million fully guaranteed. But it’s not the dollar amount anyone cares about. It’s how the Eagles went about it that could cause problems.
Barkley starred for the Penn State Nittany Lions in college, where he played for current head coach James Franklin for three seasons before turning pro in 2018. However, Franklin may have gotten both the Eagles and Barkley in hot water.
According to Franklin, Eagles GM Howie Roseman spoke with Barkley during the NFL’s ‘legal tampering period,’ which is not allowed.
Here were Franklin’s comments, which are now under the microscope.
“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.”
Penn State coach James Franklin on Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles’ free agency discussions
Technically, teams aren’t supposed to talk directly with players during the legal negotiating window unless, of course, the player does not have an agent and is representing himself. But Barkley has an agent.
Yet, the Eagles are denying all suggestions that they may have broken one of the NFL’s rules, insisting that all free agency negotiations were handled by player agents, not the players themselves.
So far, the Eagles are declining to comment on the latest tampering allegations, and a team spokesperson said they were unaware if the NFL has been in communication with the franchise regarding any potential tampering charges. The New York Giants have reportedly not reached out to the NFL about the topic either—not yet anyway.
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