Andrew Luck. Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports

Colts ask NFL to investigate Commanders for tampering

Originally posted on Sportsnaut | By Jason Burgos | Last updated 5/9/23

The Indianapolis Colts are not at all happy about rumors that the Washington Commanders indirectly reached out to quarterback Andrew Luck, and have asked the NFL to investigate whether the NFC team illegally tampered with one of their contracted athletes.

The Commanders organization has become quite adept at making headlines for the wrong reasons. Last year, owner Daniel Snyder and many top executives were under investigation by Congress and several states for workplace misconduct and questionable financial decisions.

The sale of the organization over the last few months has also been unorthodox as Snyder has looked to break records for his disappointing tenure leading the organization. The franchise has again made headlines for doing something outside the boundaries of acceptable business practices.

In 2022, the Commanders had reached out to individuals connected to former Indianapolis Colts QB Andrew Luck to see if he were interested in possibly returning to the league after retiring in 2019.

The story led to a public response and warning from Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay. Now, it seems things have escalated between the two franchises. On Monday, the Washington Post reported that the Colts have formally requested the NFL investigate the possibility of improper contact between the Commanders and Andrew Luck.

While it is believed that Washington officials did not directly speak with Luck or his representatives, contact through a third party could still be considered a violation of the NFL’s tampering rules.

“Any public or private statement of interest, qualified or unqualified, in another club’s player to that player’s agent or representative, or to a member of the news media, is a violation,” a portion of the league’s tampering-related guidelines states.

While Luck retired from the Indianapolis Colts in 2019, he still had three years left on his contract and would still be considered property of the organization.

This article first appeared on Sportsnaut and was syndicated with permission.

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