The NFL has issued a penalty to the New York Giants for using illegal forms of communication on the field. Giants head coach Ben McAdoo was spotted using a walkie talkie to communicate with QB Eli Manning after a technology failure on the sideline.
All teams have walkie talkies on the sidelines so back-up quarterbacks can listen in to the calls between the quarterback and the coaches, but the league issued a memo explicitly reminding teams that the walkie talkies are only to be used for listening. The Giants were supposed to notify the officials that their communication lines were down and their opponents would have to suspend communications until the problem was resolved.
The Giants have been fined a total of $200,000 and their 4th round draft pick has been pushed to the bottom of the round, after all the compensatory draft picks.
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
NFL also moved the Giants' fourth-round pick in the 2017 draft to the back of the fourth round, after all compensatory draft picks.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 20, 2016
The change in draft pick value is roughly the equivalent of losing a 7th round draft pick. The league has stated that the draft pick can be no more than 12 places below their original draft position, meaning that if the Giants are eliminated in wild card weekend or in the divisional round, there’s a chance the draft pick will occur prior to the end of the round.
The penalty seems in line with prior illegal communication infractions. The Browns were fined $250,000 and GM Ray Farmer was suspended for the first four weeks of the 2015 regular season for sending illegal text messages to the sideline.