Back in March, we learned that the Chiefs and wide receiver Tyreek Hill were negotiating a contract extension, and Albert Breer of SI.com reports that the team was willing to pay Hill roughly $20MM per season. Then, of course, news of the child abuse scandal that has dominated NFL headlines for months broke, and Hill was indefinitely banned from the team.

Breer says that Kansas City, despite its apparent inclination to give Hill a record-setting contract for a receiver, was proceeding with caution, especially because it knew that Hill had rekindled his historically toxic relationship with Crystal Espinal, the mother of his child. At one point, it seemed inevitable that Hill would be hit with a lengthy suspension, but he managed to avoid league discipline and is now back on track for a long-term deal.

Breer — whose piece also succinctly breaks down the events in this saga over the past few months, in case you should need a refresher — offers two reasons as to why the league opted against suspending Hill. First, he suggests that there has been a push among league owners, including several highly-influential ones, to get out of the “investigation business” and to go back to following law enforcement’s lead. Second, with new CBA negotiations looming, the league may choose to be cautious when it comes to matters like this in order to avoid having those negotiations become contentious like they were in 2011 (of course, the league recently opted to suspend Seahawks defensive lineman Jarran Reed for an incident that did not lead to an arrest or criminal charges, so it’s hard to say just what the NFL is thinking at this point).

But it also sounds as though the league did not get much cooperation from prosecutors in the Hill matter. A.J. Perez of USA Today reports that the Johnson County (Kansas) District Attorney’s office denied the NFL’s request for information relating to Hill’s case, citing an exception to Kansas’ open-records law as the basis for its denial.

As Mike Florio of Pro Football reminds us, the league has no authority to subpoena documents or testimony, so it is often at the mercy of local authorities. Hill is undoubtedly quite grateful for this reality, as he appears likely to end up with his $20MM/year deal (even if it comes with a number of conditions attached).

Tyreek Hill picked up a huge victory earlier today when it was announced that he wouldn’t be suspended by the league. We heard shortly after that the team was going to wait to resume contract talks, but that doesn’t mean they don’t still plan on locking him up. Sources reiterated to Terez Paylor of Yahoo Sports that the team does plan on extending him still.

A source also told Paylor that “there are questions that must still be answered about Hill’s personal life,” and he writes that “there are still things that need to play out that will provide closure and comfort that a similar ordeal won’t happen in the future.” That being said, Paylor also points out an interesting factor that might entice the Chiefs to get a deal done sooner rather than later.

Both Hill and superstar defensive tackle Chris Jones are heading into the final year of their contracts. If the Chiefs don’t extend one of them before the season ends, then at least one will enter unrestricted free agency and spark a bidding war, “since NFL teams can franchise tag only one player per season.” It’s an interesting observation, as the team would certainly like to keep both under team control without letting either hit the open market.

In a video posted to Twitter, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network provided some additional clarity on the situation. Rapoport explained why the team stood by him even when things weren’t looking good, saying the Chiefs “believed he was upfront and honest with them” and never lied to them, which was a “direct contrast to the Kareem Hunt situation,” where Kansas City felt Hunt didn’t tell them everything.

Pivoting to his contract, Rapoport confirms the Chiefs “plan on making sure” that Hill is “properly compensated,” and that they’ll likely make him one of the highest-paid receivers in the league. He notes that possible delays will be due to the team taking time “specifically to make sure that” complex contract language can be sorted out. It seems likely that whatever deal Hill signs will include specific language to protect the franchise in case he gets in any more off-field trouble.

For what it’s worth, Hill’s side understandably seems eager to talks going again. “Hill’s camp hopes to revisit contract talks ‘as soon as possible,'” a source told Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. It might not go as quickly as Hill’s reps would like, but it sounds like something will get done in the near future.

The NFL has opted against suspending Chiefs star Tyreek Hill, despite accusations of child abuse. Here’s a look at the latest fallout from the league’s controversial decision:

• The NFL interviewed Hill for more than eight hours and spoke with some of his family members, but on-and-off partner Crystal Espinal declined several requests to talk (Twitter link via Ed Werder). As he notes, the prosecutor in Kansas City spoke to both Espinal and Hill and did not bring charges in the case.
• As the league’s statement indicated, today’s decision does not mean that Hill is out of the woods. “Not over yet if something new comes out from court proceedings,” a league source told Werder (Twitter link).
• In a public statement, Hill expressed gratitude towards the NFL for its decision and vowed to Roger Goodell that he would “not let [him] down.” He also said the claims against him are “false allegations,” consistent with what his camp has said in the past.
• Recently, audio surfaced of Hill telling Espinal, “You need to be terrified of me too, bitch.” In spite of this, Hill escaped further suspension from the NFL. In response to an inquiry from PFT, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said: “That audio tape was reviewed as part of the overall investigation, which also included speaking to multiple people, including family members on both sides and Tyreek Hill. In addition, other information was gathered over the last four months.”
• The Chiefs may still be interested in a contract extension for Hill, but they’re putting a pin in that for now.

On Friday, the NFL announced that there will be no suspension for Chiefs star Tyreek Hill. Still, the Chiefs aren’t in a rush to restart contract talks with the wide receiver. It will most likely be several weeks, “if not months,” before negotiations resume, James Palmer of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. 

[RELATED: No Suspension For Tyreek Hill]

When the two sides sit down to talk turkey, the new contract will likely have very specific language pertaining to Hill’s off-the-field behavior. Effectively, the Chiefs will be looking to financially shield themselves from future missteps from Hill and he’ll have little room for error if trouble arises again.

Hill is presently in the final year of his rookie contract, paying him just over $2MM. His next contract should position him as one of the highest-paid receivers in the game, provided that he stays on the straight and narrow.

We have a new update in the Tyreek Hill situation. Earlier Tuesday, Kansas City sports radio station 610 KCSP aired previously unheard audio of the Chiefs receiver and his fiance, per Terez Paylor of Yahoo Sports. 

The new audio comes from the same recording that aired on a local TV station back in April. The TV station hadn’t aired this part, and in this new audio Hill can be heard denying the domestic violence incident he plead guilty to back in 2014. Hill was starring at Oklahoma State at the time, and his conviction led to him being dismissed by the team.

“… You ruined my life and you lied on me in 2014, bro,” Hill said. “And if you want to rewind that night we can rewind that night too, [expletive]. You was in my house. And did I pick you up and slam you? Hell no, I picked you up and put you out my door and after that you left. And on my son you did that, bro. And then then you get in the courtroom you want to sit up there and cry on the stand. ‘He hit me, he hit me.’ Man, come on bro,” he continued.

There’s then an exchange where Hill repeatedly asks if he hit her back then, and his fiance doesn’t really answer. The two can be heard going back and forth about the 2014 incident for a while before pivoting to the more recent allegation of child abuse, which is where the TV station picked up in April. Paylor has the full details on everything that’s new, but ultimately it doesn’t sound like this is going to effect Hill’s status with the league.

A source told Tom Pelissero of NFL Network that the NFL had the full version of the audio “months ago”, so this isn’t new to them (Twitter link). So far the investigation seems to be going about as well for Hill as he could’ve hoped given the circumstances. A few months ago it looked like his time with the Chiefs was coming to an end, but the recent reporting indicates he won’t be punished too severely.

The meeting between Hill and the league’s investigators reportedly went “very well” for the embattled receiver, and the Chiefs are now expecting him to be suspended for a maximum of four games. The team is expecting him to be at training camp later this month, and apparently could even reopen extension talks with Hill soon. We’ll keep you posted if there are any further developments.

Everything seems to be looking up for embattled Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill. We’ve heard over the past couple of days that Hill’s meeting with the league’s investigator went very well, and that he could be looking at a maximum suspension of four games.

The most recent reporting also indicates that Hill will attend the team’s training camp next month. While it once looked like the Chiefs were on the verge of moving on from Hill once and for all, it now appears they still view him in their longterm plans, according to Terez Paylor of Yahoo Sports. Assuming Hill comes out relatively cleanly with the league, which it looks like he will, “the Chiefs and his representation could potentially re-engage in contract negotiations for an extension in the not-too-distant future,” a source told Paylor.

Back in March, before this scandal got started, we heard that the two sides had begun negotiating an extension. Allegations of child abuse and domestic violence, of course, put those talks on hold. The Chiefs used their first pick in April’s draft on receiver Mecole Hardman, which many interpreted as a sign they weren’t expecting to have Hill.

The tide has slowly started to turn in Hill’s favor since then, and at this point it would be a major surprise if he isn’t playing for the Chiefs in 2019. Recent reporting indicates that if Hill is suspended it won’t be for the injuries his son sustained, but rather the recording where he can be heard threatening his fiance.

Hill will certainly need to avoid any additional off-field incidents, and any potential extension would likely include provisions to void the deal if Hill gets into further trouble, but it sounds like he may get the mega-deal he was initially angling for. A fifth-round pick in 2016, Hill is heading into the final year of his rookie contract. Assuming they do start talking about a new contract again, it’ll be interesting to see if this ordeal ends up effecting his potential price.

Details are emerging on Tyreek Hill‘s eight-hour interview with NFL Special Counsel for Investigations Lisa Friel, and multiple sources with knowledge of the situation tell Nate Taylor of The Athletic that the interview went very well for Hill.

Taylor says that most of the dialogue between Hill and Friel centered around the now infamous audio recording of a conversation between Hill and Crystal Espinal, the mother of Hill’s three-year-old son, that took place this spring. Taylor’s sources say that Hill was able to provide the league with a “massive amount of evidence” to support his claims that Espinal was the primary disciplinarian of their child and that she was the one who caused the boy’s injuries. The league requested full records from the Overland Park Police Department in March pertaining to the criminal investigation into Hill, but since the case involved a child, the PD denied access to those records.

Hill may be suspended for the threatening comments he made to Espinal in the audio recording, but at least one Chiefs official believes the suspension will be for a maximum of four games, and several team officials expect the league to announce its decision as soon as next month.

That would clear the way for Hill to participate in training camp, and we learned just yesterday that Hill is expected to join his teammates when camp opens next month. Indeed, once the league makes its decision, the Chiefs will lift their indefinite ban of Hill.

The NFL may now ask Hill to visit league headquarters to meet with Roger Goodell, but it currently sounds as though Hill will escape this ugly situation about as cleanly as he could have hoped.