The third episode of the series suggests that someone may have been interfering with negotiations involving running back Saquon Barkley.
The episode begins with G.M. Joe Schoen receiving a call from Barkley’s agent, Ed Berry. Based on the episode and Schoen’s relaxed attire, it appears this call occurred over the weekend before the negotiation window opened on Monday, March 11.
During their conversation, Schoen acknowledges that Berry was exploring other offers before giving the Giants a chance to match them.
“This was the whole idea,” Schoen explains. “You find out what’s out there, and I’ll decide if we can match it or not.”
Berry reportedly updates Schoen about an offer of $12.5 million per year with $25 million guaranteed. It’s evident that Barkley would accept such an offer if the Giants match it.
However, it’s unclear which team made this offer. Later in the episode, Schoen mentions hearing that the Bears are raising the price, while the Eagles are no longer in contention. So it might have been the Bears, the Eagles, or another team altogether.
The next question is whether the NFL will take any action. In clearing the Eagles of wrongdoing for talking directly to Barkley during the 52-hour negotiation period, the league stated: “If new evidence emerges, the league may reopen the investigation.”
If it turns out the Eagles were the team communicating with Barkley’s agent before March 11, that would be considered new evidence. The potential violation would then shift from talking to Barkley after the negotiation window opened to negotiating with his agent beforehand.
The Giants didn’t appear to be bothered by this. Schoen arguably supported exploring the market, even if it occurred before teams could legally share information with the player’s agent.
Technically, the details don’t change. Tampering remains tampering, regardless of whether the affected team welcomes it.
However, practically speaking, it might seem unfair for the league to penalize the Eagles, Bears, or another team for participating in a process that helped the Giants make an informed decision about what to offer Barkley.
