Tampering Rules To Be Adjusted?

From Mark Maske of The Washington Post:

DANA POINT, Calif.--The league's competition committee plans to make a proposal in May that, if enacted, would create a window before the annual opening of the NFL's free agent market in which players eligible for free agency could negotiate with any team.

Under the league's current tampering rules, a player eligible for free agency can negotiate only with his most recent team until 12:01 a.m. on the day the free agent market opens, when he's eligible to negotiate with and sign a contract with any other club.

A team that violates the tampering rules can be punished by the league if evidence is found to support an allegation of wrongdoing. The San Francisco 49ers were stripped of a fifth-round draft pick last year for tampering with Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs.

But many people in the league think the tampering rules are widely ignored and should be adjusted. As part of his league-wide crackdown on cheating last year in the aftermath of the "Spygate" videotaping scandal involving the New England Patriots, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell instructed the league's competition committee to study the issue.

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