It has been a very entertaining off season for the Atlanta Falcons after the tampering allegations against them involving quarterback Kirk Cousins. According to reports, a resolution in the Atlanta Falcons case is likely to be reached this week.

The Falcons are being investigated for contact they may or may not have had with quarterback Kirk Cousins before he signed with Atlanta. The NFL has spoken with several members of the organization to try and know all the details that may have occurred.

A league source indicated the Falcons’ alleged transgressions are considered more significant and the punishment is expected to be harsher for Atlanta. In the past, the league took ‘tampering’ seriously and punished teams accordingly.

The issue here is that Cousins has admitted to as many as four different tampering violations that happened during the 52-hour negotiating window, when the Falcons were permitted by rule to speak only to Cousinss agent. The league promptly launched an investigation that was not resolved before the draft.

Others being investigated with consequences of cases like these in the past

The Philadelphia Eagles are also being investigated after their talks with their new running back Saquon Barkley when he was still a part of the New York Giants organization. Both matters are expected to be resolved by later this week.

There are some cases that were severely punished in the past. The Miami Dolphins lost their 2023 first-round pick and a 2024 third-round pick in the case with quarterback Tom Brady and coach Sean Payton between 2019 and 2022. Team owner Stephen Ross and the vice president and minority partner, Bruce Beal, were fined; Ross was fined $1.5 million, while Beal was fined $500,000.

The Kansas City Chiefs lost their 2016 third-round pick and a 2017 sixth-round pick for baiting wide receiver Jeremy Maclin in 2015. The Chiefs were also fined $250,000. Coach Andy Reid was fined $75,000 and then-general manager John Dorsey was fined $25,000.