San Francisco 49ers Cheating History

37
SF
TL;DR:

• the 49ERS are ABOVE AVERAGE NFL cheaters!

• they have a CheatScore of 37?

• they've executed 9 real cheats! ?

• share page: http://YourTeamCheats.com/SF?

 

All San Francisco 49ers Cheats:

Salarycapgate (2000) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The San Francisco 49ers

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: In 2000, then Cleveland Browns President Carmen Policy and team Vice President Dwight Clark agreed to pay $600,000 for violating the NFL salary cap while with the San Francisco 49ers. The settlement called for Policy to pay $400,000 and Clark $200,000.

The principal issues involved provisions included in quarterback Jim Druckenmiller’s rookie contract, deals signed by linebacker Lee Woodall and tight end Brent Jones, and allegations of an undisclosed agreement involving quarterback Steve Young. As part of the settlement, the 49ers agreed to pay $300,000 and surrender two draft choices — their fifth pick in the 2001 draft and third selection in 2002.

In addition, the 49ers agreed to recognize a commitment of $483,000 that the club’s prior ownership and management made to Jones.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? Yes

PUNISHMENT: Policy and Clark were fined $600,000 and the 49ers were fined $300,000. In addition, the 49ers surrendered their fifth pick in the 2001 draft and third in 2002. They also agreed to recognize a commitment of $483,000 that the club’s prior ownership and management made to Jones.

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AWARDS EARNED: Serious Infraction!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 8.0

Stickumgate (90s) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The San Francisco 49ers

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: Former San Francisco wide receiver Jerry Rice admitted in an ESPN video history on the evolution of wide receiver gloves that he illegally used stickum on his own gloves to make his job easier.

Said Rice: "I know this might be a little illegal, guys, but you put a little spray, a little stickum on them, to make sure that texture is a little sticky."

At a time when many were expecting Rice to claim that his words were taken out of context or that he was joking, Rice took to Twitter to admit that he did it, and that it was more than "a little illegal." He tweeted: "I apologize ppl after doing my research about stickum!," Rice said. "The NFL banned this in 1981. All players did it! #equalplayingfield."

Bountygate cheater and former wide receiver Cris Carter said he himself never used Stickum and if Jerry Rice did, then he cheated.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? No

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AWARDS EARNED: Hip-Hip-Hypocritical!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 7.0

Tampergate (2007: Briggs) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The San Francisco 49ers

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: In 2008, The NFL came down hard on the 49ers when commissioner Roger Goodell ruled that San Francisco was guilty of tampering with linebacker Lance Briggs of the Chicago Bears and ruled the team had to forfeit a fifth-round selection in the upcoming draft and swap picks with the Bears in the third round.

After a hearing in New York that was attended by team officials from both the 49ers and Bears - with both sides fully cooperating with the investigation and hearing, according to a NFL statement - Goodell determined that the Niners violated the NFL anti-tampering policy by contacting Briggs' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, during the 2007 season without the Bears' permission.

Briggs was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in 2007 after Chicago slapped him with the franchise tag in 2006, and there was speculation San Francisco was high on his list of potential suitors because he grew up in nearby Sacramento. But it was always unclear exactly how Briggs would have fit in with the 49ers' 3-4 defensive scheme in the first place, and the team did not even pursue him when it had the opportunity to legally do so.

VICTIM: Chicago Bears

PUNISHED? Yes

PUNISHMENT: The 49ers forfeited a fifth-round selection in the upcoming draft and swapped picks with the Bears in the third round

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AWARDS EARNED: Everyone Was Doing It!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 5.0

Slippygate (80s) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The San Francisco 49ers

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: At a June 2015 charity event in Pittsburgh, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana confessed that, in the 80s, his "offensive lineman used to spray silicon on their shirts." Montana said they continued the practice "until they got caught."

VICTIM: The entire league

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

PUNISHMENT: So now we know that San Francisco greased up their offensive lineman and that their hall-of-fame receiver illegally used Stickum to gain an advantage. Queue the media outrage ... [crickets] ...

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AWARDS EARNED: Avoid Media Scrutiny!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 3.0

PEDSgate (3x since 1989) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The San Francisco 49ers

SEVERITY:scale

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.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? Yes

PUNISHMENT: Each player was suspended for four games for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy.

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AWARDS EARNED: Everyone Was Doing It!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 3.0

Warmupgate (1987-99) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The San Francisco 49ers

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: In his January 7, 2015 appearance on the ESPN program PTI, former 49ers quarterback Steve Young admitted that he paid the ballboys $20 to keep the game balls warm on cold days.

Said Young: "It's still a problem. But it's the footballs that get frozen, the leather gets frozen. I would alway slip a couple 20s to the ballboys and say look, you just grab those all game, just have them in your arms, just bring them ... throw them to some of your buddies. I mean, we're not deflating them, just ... fondling them."

VICTIM: The entire league

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

PUNISHMENT: Tampering with game balls is a criminal offense in today's NFL.

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CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 2.0

Headsetgate (90s) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The San Francisco 49ers

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: The San Francisco 49ers were notorious during Bill Walsh - Joe Montana era for allegedly faking headset problems to force opposing team to turn theirs off so Montana could run scripted drives against a defense that could no longer get adjustments from coaches. Bill Parcells claims the 49ers twice disabled the Giants' phones in the mid-'80s.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? No

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CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 1.0

Salarycapgate (1994) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The San Francisco 49ers

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: The San Francisco 49ers were quietly accused by other league members of skirting the salary cap during their dominant run from 1981 to 1994.

Despite the supposed restraints of the $34.6 million salary cap, the 49ers remade their defense and filled gaps on their offensive line to position themselves for a Super Bowl run. The complaints intensified after the signing of cornerback Deion Sanders, who was just one of San Francisco's eight key free-agent acquisitions, six of whom have been to the Pro Bowl.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? No

PUNISHMENT: No evidence ever emerged to prove their infractions

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CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 0.0

 

Leaguewide Cheats:

Tampergate (ongoing) flagsto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: All 32 NFL Teams

SEVERITY:scale

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.

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AWARDS EARNED:Everyone Was Doing It!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 4.0

Headsetgate (ongoing) flagsto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: All 32 NFL Teams

SEVERITY:scale

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

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CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 4.0

Spygate (until 2006) flagsto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: All 32 NFL Teams

SEVERITY:scale

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.

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AWARDS EARNED:Everyone Was Doing It!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 0.0

Scrapsgate (ongoing) flagsto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: All 32 NFL Teams

SEVERITY:scale

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.

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AWARDS EARNED:Everyone Was Doing It!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 0.0

awardEARNED: "Avoid Media Scrutiny!"

CRITERIA: Successfully attract less than 5% of the typical Patriots "cheating" scandal coverage!
EARNED FOR:Slippygate (80s) 

awardEARNED: "Everyone Was Doing It!"

CRITERIA: Successfully "cheat" in a way that many other teams have (bonus points for not getting caught)!
EARNED FOR:Spygate (until 2006)  Tampergate (ongoing)  Scrapsgate (ongoing)  PEDSgate (3x since 1989)  Tampergate (2007: Briggs) 

awardEARNED: "Hip-Hip-Hypocritical!"

CRITERIA: Call out another team for cheating while actively cheating yourself (bonus points for calling out another team's cheating while executing the same cheat yourself)!
EARNED FOR:Stickumgate (90s) 

awardEARNED: "Serious Infraction!"

CRITERIA: Successfully execute a 4 or 5 severity cheating scandal!
EARNED FOR:Salarycapgate (2000) 

Is there a San Francisco 49ers cheating scandal that I'm missing? Do I have a fact wrong? A broken link? Email me with your comment and supporting link and I'll fix or add it.

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