NFL is investigating Ndamukong Suh's deal with the Dolphins and the team is 'nervous'
On Saturday, Chris Mortensen of ESPN reported that Ndamukong Suh would sign a $114 million contract with the Dolphins with $60 million of the contract guaranteed. The problem is teams are not allowed to make offers to players, much less reach agreements on contracts, prior to the start of the league year which is Tuesday at 4 pm.
On Monday, the NFL sent a letter to every team saying the league would investigate deals reached before Tuesday at 4 pm and the Dolphins are 'nervous' according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald.
"The team is taking the threat of sanctions extremely seriously," wrote Salguero. "The Dolphins have been in utter lockdown for a week since word leaked they would be chasing Suh. But something changed Sunday and Monday. I'm told employees were told they better have zero contact addressing the possibility of a Suh deal with anyone - much less the media."
The deal with Suh was reported during what is being called the "legal tampering period," the three days before the start of the year when teams are allowed to negotiate with free agents but are not permitted to make offers or reach written or oral agreements.
While Suh was one of many deals that have already been reported, Suh is the biggest fish and the league may be looking to make an example of the Dolphins according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com.
According to Salguero, sanctions could be fines or loss of draft picks.
We have reached out to the Miami Dolphins for comment.