Arthur Blank says he doesn\'t believe the Atlanta Falcons committed tampering during their pursuit of Kirk Cousins, as the NFL investigates the issue.
\"The tampering deal, we obviously don\'t believe we tampered, and we shared all the information with the league,\" Blank said. \"And they\'ll review the process and the facts and they are in the middle of doing that, and whatever the result is, we\'ll deal with it.\"
The Falcons officially signed Cousins to a four-year deal worth up to $180 million on the first day of official free agency, two days after his agent, Mike McCartney, announced on social media that Cousins and Atlanta had agreed to terms.
During Cousins\' introductory news conference, he indicated he had spoken with the team\'s head trainer before 4 p.m. on March 13, when the new league year was set to open.
Teams can speak with agents during the legal negotiating window from noon ET on March 11 until the start of the new year, but cannot speak with players directly unless the player does not have an agent and is his own representation.