Riders fined $5,000 for tampering with Manziel

Saskatchewan Roughriders vicepresident of football operations and head coach Chris Jones has been fined $5,000 by the CFL for meeting with the publicist for quarterback Johnny Manziel.

The 24-year-old Manziel is on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ exclusive negotiation list and the league said Jones’s actions “constitutes tampering and is in violation of CFL By-Laws.”

In early February, The Hamilton Spectator reported that the Riders worked out Manziel. The team denied it and the league said that “based on evidence to date” there’s no evidence an on-field session took place.

The team was also fined an additional $31,500 by the CFL for allowing players on the suspended list to attend practice as well as recruitment violations surrounding a junior player.

This is the fifth time the Riders have been fined by the CFL since Chris Jones took over as vice-president of football operations before the 2016 season.

The most significant of those came last August when the league docked the team $60,000 and reduced their salary cap by $26,000 for practising with ineligible players.

They have also been fined for violating ratio rules in a July game against the B.C. Lions.

In all, the Riders have been fined more than $110,000 since Jones took over.

Jones said in a statement that the Riders accept the league’s punishments.

“The Saskatchewan Roughriders have been notified of the league’s decision and accept their disciplinary action. We have been forthcoming with the CFL office on any information they have requested.

“We look forward to moving on and continuing to prepare for the 2017 season.”

The CFL also fined the B.C. Lions $2,500 for violating its constitution regarding the contract of former linebacker Adam Bighill, who is now a member of the NFL’s New Orleans Saints.

The moves were announced in a release issued by the league outlining that all nine clubs finished 2016 under the $5.1-million salary cap.