New York Giants fined $150,000 for walkie-talkie violation
The NFL has fined the New York Giants $150,000 for a recent walkie-talkie infraction, as well as downgraded their fourth-round pick.
The New York Giants have been levied a huge $150,000 fine by the National Football League for illegal use of walkie-talkies in their Week 14 win over the Dallas Cowboys. Adam Schefter posted the news on Twitter.
NFL fined the Giants $150,000 and HC Ben McAdoo $50,000 for illegal use of walkie talkies during game vs.Cowboys.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 20, 2016
League rules state that coaches are not supposed to use two-way radios during a game. But during last week’s 10-7 win over Dallas, Giants coach Ben McAdoo was seen holding one. The team was having problems getting plays to Manning, which prompted McAdoo to rely on the radio. He was also fined $50,000 for his involvement.
They weren’t actually communicating with Manning within 15 seconds of the play clock expiring, which would’ve been a rule violation, but they had opportunities to do it. In a statement on Tuesday, the NFL released a statement about the situation.
"The New York Giants were notified today of the discipline for a violation of the NFL’s game operations policy which prohibits the use of two-way radios by coaches to communicate plays during a game. The policy states “coaches are not permitted to hold a radio during a game because they will not be cut off when the Cutoff Switch Operator engages the cutoff."
In addition, the Giants will also have their 2017 fourth-round pick moved toward the back of the round after the compensatory picks. However, it won’t be pushed back more than 12 picks.
The Giants issued their own statement on Tuesday, accepting full responsibility and acknowledging that it was a “clear violation of the rules.” The league took into consideration that New York has been fully cooperative with their investigation and that it was their first violation of the policy.
Next: Week 16 NFL Power Rankings
There are still two games left in the season, so there’s no way to know where the Giants will be drafting until the season is done. That said, OverTheCap.com is currently projecting nine compensatory picks in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft.