The NFL finally announced the consequences for the New York Giants’ illegal use of walkie-talkies during their Week 14 game against the Dallas Cowboys. Surprisingly, it will cost them more than just money.
Fines were already expected and the Giants will pay $150,000 for the violation. Head coach Ben McAdoo is being personally fined $50,000 for the infraction.
More painful to the team and coach, though, will be a penalty in the 2017 NFL Draft. The Giants’ fourth-round pick will now move to either the end of the round, after compensatory picks, or a maximum of 12 spots from their regular position.
In last year’s draft there were nine compensatory picks awarded, so that does leaves plenty of room for moment. Some will argue that this is no big deal; teams trade down all the time. But with how much NFL team covet their draft picks, any loss of value is undesirable.
Given these light penalties, we can infer that the NFL does not believe the Giants’ were tapped into the Cowboys’ radio signal. There was talk that the Giants may have known the Cowboys play-calls in advance from radio hijacking, but the NFL would’ve come down much harder on such blatant cheating.
