The Chiefs won't be getting their draft picks back after Roger Goodell denies tampering appeal

Is anyone even remotely surprised that the Kansas City Chiefs appeal of the tampering punishment levied against them was denied? It's the least surprising Chiefs news in a while.

To recap, the Chiefs were busted for tampering because they spoke with Jeremy Maclin directly before free agency started last year. The NFL fined the Chiefs, Andy Reid and John Dorsey while also docking the Chiefs a third round pick this year and a sixth round pick next year. It was far and away the largest tampering penalty in NFL history.

NFL Commissioner was the one to hear the appeal and the league announced that the fines have been reduced -- the organization's fine went from $250,000 to $200,00 and Andy Reid's fine went from $75,000 to $60,000. The draft picks, however, are not coming back.

Judging by his statement, Chiefs owner Clark Hunt adamantly disagrees with the NFL's decision.

"We appreciate the opportunity to make our appeal on this matter, and we acknowledge the minor reduction in fines imposed," Hunt said in a statement. "However, we continue to believe that the facts of this case combined with the league's inconsistent enforcement of its tampering policies do not warrant the most severe penalty for player-related tampering in league history. Having exhausted our options under the appeal process, we are turning the page on this issue and look forward to continuing our preparations for the 2016 season."

Clark Hunt is a league guy all the way. For him to make a statement like this is significant, just like it was when Robert Kraft openly questioned the league office following DeflateGate.

Let's be clear here. The Chiefs broke the rules. They are guilty. The argument is the insanity of the largest tampering punishment in NFL history for a team that fully cooperated with the NFL.

The Chiefs were made an example for the rest of the league. Any Chiefs official will tell you privately that every team in the league commits some type of tampering each year. The NFL literally changed its own rules a few years ago because tampering was so rampant. And it was so rampant that the league rarely did anything about it. How can the league punish one team for something everyone does?

The NFL wanted to clamp down on tampering around the league -- apparently, they got so tired of the blatant tampering that has been so public in recent years -- so they made an example out of the Chiefs by catching them and levying a huge punishment against them.

This is how the league operates. When they wanted to stop bounties, they railroaded the Saints for a practice that they soon found was happening elsewhere around the league. When they heard the Patriots were rumored to be deflating their footballs, they set up a sting to catch them in the act instead of telling them to cut it out. The NFL then of course did what they do and suspended the most popular player in the league and docked the Patriots a first round pick (Shoot, I would argue the Chiefs tampering was a bigger violation of the rules than whatever was going on with the Patriots balls).

Every fan base in the NFL should be concerned about this case because it could be you next. I never thought after DeflateGate that the Chiefs would be next but here we are. Will the NFL choose to attack your team next?