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February 22, 2008

League, 49ers: No comment on Briggs

The 49ers are referring all questions about the Lance Briggs tampering allegations to the league. The league, in turn, is referring all questions on the matter to the 49ers. “We’re not commenting on it,” said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello a few moments ago. Which is to say, there are plenty of questions in the case of Bears v. 49ers and precious few answers. The first revolves around the fact that tampering is the jaywalking of NFL rules. Everyone does it. How else can teams wrap up massive, multi-year deals on Day 1 of free agency? These are painstaking negotiations that take time and plenty of back and forth. The 49ers probably have done it, but so have 31 other teams. The next question– if this is such common practice – is whether the league is looking to make an example of the 49ers in order to discourage it. If so, you’d have to wonder whether a slap of the wrist, such as a fine, would send a strong enough signal. The only thing that’s clear is that the 49ers will look awfully guilty if Briggs is wearing a red and gold No. 55 jersey on Feb. 29.

-- Matt Barrows

Posted by Matthew Barrows at 9:43 AM | Comments |