While the reason for the timing of the announcement regarding discipline imposed on the Chiefs for violating the rules of the 2015 legal tampering period remains unclear, the broader purpose of the punishment has become more obvious.
The decision to discipline the Chiefs and coach Andy Reid for communicating directly with then-Eagles receiver Jeremy Maclin during the three-day window last March is being viewed throughout the league as an attempt to shock teams other than the Chiefs, and coaches not named Andy Reid.
By hitting the Chiefs, one of the “establishment” franchises, and Reid, one of the most respected and tenured coaches in the game, all other teams and coaches could decide that they need to dot every “i” and cross every “t” as to each and every mandate, big and small, from 345 Park Avenue.
The next question becomes whether the NFL, which announced the violation and the consequences not before the 2016 legal tampering period but after it, will scour over phone records and press conference transcripts and other public statements and reports in an effort to show that teams violated the rules by, among other things, communicating directly with players.