Washington Commanders Reportedly Unlikely To Face Punishment Over Andrew Luck Tampering Allegations

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The Washington Commanders sure have a lot going on these days.

It appears that longtime owner Daniel Snyder will finally sell the team after investigations into his behavior by both the NFL and the federal government.

Though that sale may now get hung up over a $500 billion lawsuit from prospective buyer Brian Davis.

That’s not all, however.

The Commanders are also dealing with allegations of tampering after they allegedly tried to draw former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck out of retirement.

“If any NFL Team attempted to contact Andrew Luck (or any associate of him)… to play for their Franchise – it would be a clear Violation of the League’s Tampering Policy.” Colts owner Jim Irsay tweeted in respond to the allegations.

Irsay’s tweet strongly implies that the Commanders did not seek permission from the Colts before reaching out to Luck. That could well have led to punishment from the NFL for violating its tampering rules.

Though Mark Maske and Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post now report that’s unlikely to be the case.

“There probably is ‘not enough hard evidence’ of impermissible contact for the Commanders to be penalized, one of the people with knowledge of the case said, adding that the issue probably is ‘going to fade away’ without being pursued further,” the report stated.

Luck retired in 2019 at just 29 years old.

He told ESPN’s Seth Wickersham in a recent article that the decision came down to more than football. Luck dealt with chronic pain due to recurring injuries and had recently married his longtime girlfriend Nicole.

So it’s no surprise, then, to hear that he has no intentions of re-entering the league anytime soon.

Though if Washington did reach out, it’s not hard to see why. Luck made four Pro Bowl appearances in six seasons with the Colts. He also led the league in touchdown passes in 2014 with 40.