TEAM: The Seattle Seahawks

SEVERITY:

SUMMARY: Performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) are used by players to illegally improve athletic performance above what legal training and preparation can do.

Players who illegally improve their performance unfairly penalize players who follow the rules. They not only put those players at risk for physical injury, but they also affect their economic livelihood by impacting their perceived value and their ability to secure appropriately-valued playing contracts.

SEVERITY = 0.5 video cameras per punished incident. Includes all documented infractions from 1960 to present with this Wikipedia page as the primary source.

• CB Shawn Springs (2001)
• OG John Moffitt (2011)
• RB Vai Taua (2011)
• OT Allen Barbre (2012)
• SS Winston Guy (2012)
• CB Brandon Browner (2012)
• CB Richard Sherman (2012) - positive test, won appeal on technicality
• DE Bruce Irvin (2013)

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? Yes

PUNISHMENT: Each player was suspended for four games for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy. Sherman appealed his suspension and won, arguing successfully that the NFL mishandled his positive-tested urine sample.

SHARE: http://YourTeamCheats.com/SEA#PEDSgate-2001

AWARDS EARNED: Everyone Was Doing It!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 8.0

TEAM: The Seattle Seahawks

SEVERITY:

SUMMARY:

For the third time since 2012, the Seattle Seahawks were punished for running an illegal practice. The league fined the team $400,000, fined head coach Pete Carroll $200,000 and took away Seattle's fifth-round draft pick in 2017. The league also forced the team to forfeit its first three days of organized team activities in 2017.

According to Darren Hartwell of NESN, "Seattle was penalized for holding workouts that included excessive on-field contact, specifically a June 6, 2016, workout that included 'live contact' drills which aren't allowed under the league’s collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Players’ Association."

For total of fines for the Seahawks three practice cheats are now over $1,000,000.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? Yes

PUNISHMENT: Fined a total of $600,000, lost their 2017 fifth-round draft pick and forced to forfeit three organized team activities in 2017.

SHARE: http://YourTeamCheats.com/SEA#Practicegate-2016

AWARDS EARNED: Repeat The Cheat!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 4.0

TEAM: The Seattle Seahawks

SEVERITY:

SUMMARY: Not learning from their 2012 version of this cheat, the Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll was fined $100,000 and the Seahawks were fined $200,000 and the team lost two double practices in 2015 for violating no-contact rules that govern NFL teams' offseason practices.

The Seahawks were fined an undisclosed amount in 2012 by Goodell for a similar violation under Carroll's supervision and lost their final two organized team activities practices. The 2011 collective bargaining agreement bans physical contact between players during the offseason.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? Yes

PUNISHMENT: Pete Carroll was fined $100,000 and the Seahawks were fined $200,000 and the team lost two double practices in 2015

SHARE: http://YourTeamCheats.com/SEA#Practicegate-2014

AWARDS EARNED: Repeat The Cheat!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 3.0

TEAM: The Seattle Seahawks

SEVERITY:

SUMMARY: The Seahawks were penalized for having excessive contact in practice before the league-mandated date for such activity. Pete Carroll and the team were fined an undisclosed amount and stripped of two OTA practices for the violation.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? Yes

PUNISHMENT: Fined an undisclosed amount and stripped of two OTS practices

SHARE: http://YourTeamCheats.com/SEA#Practicegate-2012

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 2.0

TEAM: The Seattle Seahawks

SEVERITY:

SUMMARY: On January 16, 2016, Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll explained why cornerback Richard Sherman had such a volatile 2016 season.

Explained Carroll: "You don’t know that he dealt with a significant knee [injury] the whole second half of the season, and it was stressful to him to try to get out there. He had an MCL problem that he could play with."

Reported ESPN's Sheil Kapadia, "The problem? Sherman was never listed on the injury report with a knee injury this season. And according to ESPN's Chris Mortensen, the omission could result in the Seahawks losing a second-round pick in this year's draft."

Here is the relevant section of the NFL rule on injury reporting:

"THE PRACTICE REPORT PROVIDES CLUBS AND FANS AN ACCURATE DESCRIPTION OF A PLAYER'S INJURY STATUS AND HOW MUCH HE PARTICIPATED IN PRACTICE DURING THE WEEK. IF ANY PLAYER HAS A SIGNIFICANT OR NOTEWORTHY INJURY, IT MUST BE LISTED ON THE PRACTICE REPORT, EVEN IF HE FULLY PARTICIPATES IN PRACTICE AND THE TEAM EXPECTS THAT HE WILL PLAY IN THE TEAM'S NEXT GAME. THIS IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR KEY PLAYERS WHOSE INJURIES MAY BE COVERED EXTENSIVELY BY THE MEDIA."

The problem for Seattle? "Significant injury" is the exact phrase that coach Carroll used when describing Sherman's issues this year.

Seattle has already lost their 2017 5th-round draft pick because of practice violations. Rumor has it that that their two 2016 cheating infractions might be result in the team losing their 2nd-round pick instead.

Seattle may lose 2nd-round pick in 2017 draft as a result of season-long failure to disclose knee injury to Richard Sherman, per @mortreport

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 19, 2017

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? PENDING...

PUNISHMENT: Head coach Pete Carroll is not afraid of cheating (see all the Practicegates above).

SHARE: http://YourTeamCheats.com/SEA#Injurygate-2016

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 2.0

TEAM: The Seattle Seahawks

SEVERITY:

SUMMARY: On December 21, 2017, the Seattle Seahawks were fined $100,000 for violating the concussion protocol with quarterback Russell Wilson in their November 9, 2017 game against the Arizona Cardinals.

To add insult to injury, the league also mandated that the Seahawks' coaching and medical staffs attend remedial training regarding the protocol.

On the plus side, the Seahawks were the first team to receive a monetary fine under the policy, according to NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart. Congrats to the SEA!!!! HAWKS!!!!

VICTIM: Arizona Cardinals

PUNISHED? Yes

PUNISHMENT: The Hawks were fined a whopping $100,000 for this cheat.

SHARE: http://YourTeamCheats.com/SEA#Concussgate-2017

AWARDS EARNED: Champs of the Cheat!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 2.0

TEAM: The Seattle Seahawks

SEVERITY:

SUMMARY: As reported by Daily Snark: during the November 7, 2016 matchup of the Seattle Seahawks and Buffalo Bills in Seattle, many fans noticed something that appeared strange during a Jon Ryan punt.

The football Seahawks punter Ryan was using for the punts "appears to be deflated, as Ryan’s one-handed grip seems to easily warp the ball."

@MikeFromWoburn more deflated balls in a Walt Anderson game? #integritypic.twitter.com/X3ET5JP6tW

— Gresh's Bad Cliches (@GreshsBadCliche) November 8, 2016

Commented FORTHEWIN: "Coincidentally, the head official in Monday night’s game, Walt Anderson, also happened to be the head official in that infamous Patriots-Colts AFC Championship Game. Make of that what you will. One thing that is clear: If there is anything to these accusations — and that’s all that they are at this point — we know the NFL will attack the issue with vigor."

VICTIM: Buffalo Bills

PUNISHED? No but ... it's more probable than not that this was cheating

PUNISHMENT: It is more probably than not that Jon Ryan was at least generally aware of the Seahawks ball deflation scheme.

SHARE: http://YourTeamCheats.com/SEA#Deflategate-2016

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 0.0

TEAM: All 32 NFL Teams

SEVERITY:

SUMMARY: Tampering with free agents is rampant, it's laughable and it is against the rules (PDF). It's so bad across every team in the league that the NFL had to create a three-day legal tampering period. However, tampering still regularly occurs long before that annual three-day window opens. On March 9, 2015 the league once again felt compelled to warn all 32 teams about not tampering.

Why is tampering considered a problem? Because tampering with players still under contract makes it difficult for clubs to re-sign their own talent. It also puts those few teams that actually follow NFL guidelines at a distinct disadvantage. In many cases, contract agreements are in place days before any negotiations are allowed to begin.

This isn't fair, it isn't legal, and it is blatant cheating by the teams who engage in the practice.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? No but...

PUNISHMENT: NFL commissioner and former Jets public relations intern Roger Goodell is doing all he can to curtail and punish the "commonplace" practice, although it admits that there is so much tampering that it is hard to police it all.

The CheatPoints earned for this leaguewide cheat is for all of this team's tampering incidents that have gone undiscovered or unproven. If specific instances are discovered, they are punished on top of this leaguewide penalty.

SHARE: http://YourTeamCheats.com/SEA#Tampergate-1960

AWARDS EARNED:Everyone Was Doing It!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 4.0

TEAM: All 32 NFL Teams

SEVERITY:

SUMMARY: it's a common complaint around the NFL. In late, close games, the helmet communicators of visiting teams suddenly "malfunction" and stop working. It has been accepted as standard practice in the league. Are you on the road and the game is close? Then you are going to have problems with your headset.

In recent years, the Patriots have accused the Colts of doing it and the Jaguars have made the same charge of the Patriots. The Redskins accused the Buccaneers of disabling their headsets, and Tampa Bay accused Dallas. The Giants openly bragged about doing it way back in 1956. The charges go on and on and on.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? No

SHARE: http://YourTeamCheats.com/SEA#Headsetgate-1980

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 4.0

TEAM: All 32 NFL Teams

SEVERITY:

SUMMARY: Stealing your opponent's signals has always been common and never been illegal.

Said former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher, "We had people that always tried to steal signals. Stealing someone's signals was a part of the game, and everyone attempted to do that." Admitted former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson: "When I came into the NFL, back in 1989, I talked to a Kansas City scout and he said, 'Here's what we do, we videotape the opposing team's signals and then we sync it up with the game film.' So I did it." Bragged, former Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan: "Our guy keeps a pair of binoculars on their signal-callers every game, with any luck, we have their defensive signals figured out by halftime. Sometimes, by the end of the first quarter."

NFL commissioner and former Jets public relations intern Rodger Goodell confirmed this himself in 2008, saying that the issue was not stealing signals, that is allowed "and it is done quite widely." The issue is where and how you record them. If you chose to videotape them, then (after 2006) you have to do that from a league approved location. If you hire lip readers, they can do it from your coaches lap, if you want.

After 2006, examples of allowed videotaping locations are: the luxury boxes, media booths and other enclosed spaces. Expressly prohibited locations are the sidelines, the field, locker rooms, the coaches booth or any other place accessible to team coaches and staff. The point of the rule is to not allow the footage to be useful in the current game.

Prior to the September 6, 2006 memo and, 2007 follow up, from NFL head of football operations Ray Anderson, there was no league restriction on filming location, which is the reason the memo was sent.

Many NFL head coaches have downplayed the significance of the practice, saying that attempting to decipher opponent's signals was a long standing practice and entirely common throughout the league.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? No

PUNISHMENT: NFL commissioner and former Jets public relations intern Rodger Goodell suggested that the responsibility was on teams to conceal their messages, not on the ones trying to steal them. During his news conference before the 2007 Super Bowl he said that any coach who did not expect signals to be stolen was "stupid."

Prior to 2006, every NFL team is assumed to have done it, but none of them broke a rule. You can't punish something that is not prohibited. Filming from the sidelines was not prohibited until 2006 and filming your opponent's signals from approved locations has never been prohibited, even today.

SHARE: http://YourTeamCheats.com/SEA#Spygate-1960

AWARDS EARNED:Everyone Was Doing It!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 0.0

TEAM: All 32 NFL Teams

SEVERITY:

SUMMARY: Sign an opponent's recently-cut player to your practice squad to get intel on their plays, signals and tactics. This is not illegal and is a leaguewide practice.

Said one player, who chose to remain anonymous as he was still in the league as of 2015, "If teams have an opening at a certain position, they might not be looking for perhaps the best player to fill it on their practice squad. Instead, they might go for someone who has access to the opposing team’s playbook."

“Let’s say we’re playing the Jaguars in seven days and you want to know more about their playbook. From time to time teams will sign people off of practice squads. You don’t have to put them on active roster so if there’s a need for more depth at linebacker and you’re playing Jacksonville, there would be more of a chance to sign a linebacker off the team you’re about to play’s practice squad and hoping that the person you’re about to sign will divulge information about the playbook.”

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? No

PUNISHMENT: Not illegal.

SHARE: http://YourTeamCheats.com/SEA#Scrapsgate-1960

AWARDS EARNED:Everyone Was Doing It!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 0.0