Article:Tampergate?: Niners Lose 5th Round Pick

Goodell Castro is at it again, this time its the San Francisco 49ers that has come under fire. The Niners have forfeited their 5th round pick in next months draft as well as having to switch their 3rd round picks with the Chicago Bears after Goodell has determined the Niners tampered with Bears LB Lance Briggs. As you may know, the NFL are strong opposers to any sort of tampering or cock blocking. Goodell said the 49ers violated the NFL's anti-tampering policy by contacting Briggs' agent, Drew Rosenhaus(who else), about his client during the 2007 season when Briggs was a franchise tagged player.

The Niners released a statement: "The 49ers organization respects Commissioner Goodell's ruling today, however we do disagree with it, this was not a malicious act; we believe that our intent was within the NFL guidelines. Going forward, we will take the necessary steps to ensure we are in compliance with the NFL's interpretation." The Bears filed the claim last year when they expected foul play. But in the end, tampering didn't work because Briggs resigned with Chicago for 36 million over 6 years.

The Niners also given up the rights to their 1st round pick (7th overall) in a trade with New England.