49ers got hit harder for “clerical error” than Falcons did for using fake crowd noise

On Monday, the NFL announced that the 49ers will lose a 2025 fifth-round pick and will see their 2024 fourth-round pick fall four spots, to the bottom of the round, for a "clerical error" regarding player payroll in 2022. It was presented as an accident that created no competitive advantage and did not put the 49ers in violation of the salary cap.But it's still a major sanction, especially if it was an accident. In 2015, the NFL gave less of a punishment to the Falcons for piping fake crowd noise into the Georgia Dome. That year, the Falcons lost a fifth-round pick in the 2016 draft."What took place was wrong and nowhere near the standards by which we run our business," owner Arthur Blank said at the time. "Anytime there are actions that compromise the integrity of the NFL or threaten the culture of our franchise, as this issue did, they will be dealt with swiftly and strongly."There are two explanations for the disparity in outcome. One, the 49ers situation was a bigger deal than they're letting on. Two, the NFL went too easy on the Falcons.Many will presume the latter. The fact that Rich McKay has held for years a position of high influence in league circles potentially...