Steelers Rule Change Gaining Support

A rule change proposed by the Pittsburgh Steelers targeted at changing the regulations during the legal tampering period in free agency, will be a topic of discussion at the annual league meetings in Palm Beach, Fla., and it received backing from an influential figure in the football world.

Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider offered his support for Pittsburgh's proposition during a weekly appearance on his self-titled radio show, which airs on Seattle Sports.

"Pittsburgh presented a rule change that says, during that negotiating period, you can get on an hour-long Zoom call with a prospect and the agent, which I think is a really cool idea," Schneider said. "When you're spending that kind of money, you really want to look somebody in the eye and have them talk through their injury history, or if they've had some issues off the field. You want to be able to really talk through it with a person."

Within the current structure of the tampering period, teams are only permitted to speak with player agents during contract negotiations and not the athletes themselves.

Furthermore, travel plans for players who agree to terms with an organization cannot be made until after the start of the new league year, which commences two days after the tampering period begins.

Should Pittsburgh's submission be put into effect, however, the league would then allow players to accompany their representation and speak with interested teams on a one-hour call.

Should the two sides later come to an agreement, travel plans could then be made before the start of the new league year despite the fact that the player would still be barred from following through with a visit until that point on the calendar.

Pittsburgh's proposal will be put in front of all 32 team owners this upcoming week, and at least 75 percent of that group will have to vote in favor of it in order for it to pass.

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