The NFL announced on Monday that the 49ers would face penalties for a “clerical error” related to player payroll in 2022. As a result, they will lose a 2025 fifth-round pick and their 2024 fourth-round pick will be pushed to the bottom of the round, dropping four spots. Despite claims that this error didn’t provide a competitive advantage or violate salary cap regulations, it’s still a significant punishment, particularly if it was unintentional.
This punishment is notable, especially when compared to past incidents like the Falcons’ fake crowd noise case in 2015, where they only lost a fifth-round pick. The reasons behind this differing treatment could be twofold: either the 49ers’ error was more severe than disclosed, or the NFL was lenient with the Falcons.
Many might speculate the latter, especially given Rich McKay’s influential position within league circles, potentially shielding the Falcons from harsher penalties. This raises concerns about consistency, particularly regarding how other teams, like the Patriots, might be treated for similar infractions.
However, it’s plausible that both the NFL and the 49ers prefer to downplay the payroll irregularities to avoid the public perception of corruption within the franchise. This is crucial, especially considering the ongoing scrutiny of the NFL’s integrity amid discussions of its relationship with legalized gambling.
Furthermore, even though the clerical error didn’t breach salary cap regulations, any excess cap space could be carried over to subsequent years. Thus, if the error resulted in a shortfall, it would provide the 49ers with extra cap space in the following years. Despite this, it’s perplexing that a supposed clerical error would incur a more severe penalty than deliberate actions like the Falcons’ manipulation of crowd noise. This suggests that either the 49ers’ situation was more serious than disclosed or the Falcons’ case should have been treated with greater severity.
