Seth Vigdor
The euphoria of Eagles fans believing Carson Wentz has to turn into a franchise quarterback and Sam Bradford’s whole hissy fit has taken over as the main Eagles’ talking points this offseason thus far. However, it’s possible the Eagles violated a rule in apparently having both Wentz and Jared Goff, if they were to draft him, verbally commit contract parameters before the draft. According to Pro Football Talk, the Eagles had “secured a verbal commitment from Jared Goff and Carson Wentz that both would accept offsets if the Eagles traded up to No. 2 and made one of them the selection.”
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Wentz is signing the four-year deal presently. The Eagles secured a verbal understanding from Wentz and Jared Goff before making the trade to No. 2 in the draft that either player would agree to offset language if they become Philadelphia’s pick. Both players indicated that they would accept that term.
It was important for the Eagles to get that commitment in advance because both Wentz and Goff are represented by Ryan and Bruce Tollner, who represented Mariota in his back-and-forth with the Titans.
Cash flow is the other major issue in these deals. According to the source, all but $1 million of Wentz’s signing bonus will be paid out in 2016. The remaining $1 million will be paid in January, for tax purposes.
Some people have suggested the Eagles violated a rule by engaging in these discussions with the agents that represent incoming rookies. However, the NFL to date has been mum on the situation and quite frankly, they’re the only ones whose voice matters here. Upon hearing that some are suggesting that the Birds violated a rule, I’m quite certain that other teams have done that before. It sounds like people are just trying to cause some trouble for the Eagles. And the NFL has declined to comment.
The NFL declined comment on the situation. Whether the NFL actually does anything about it becomes a question for the vague, arbitrary process that arises from a habit widespread violations of the rules and limited, selective enforcement.”
The NFL keeping quiet is interesting, because it’s entirely possible the Eagles are punished by some sort of fine for this type of thing, or there’s no violation at all. It’ll be something to keep an eye on, however, in case the Eagles did commit a violation.