The Canadian Football League announced a $5,000 fine to Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach and general manager Chris Jones for taking a meeting with the publicist of former Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel.

Because the Hamilton Tiger-Cats have the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner on their negotiations list, Jones' meeting was adjudged to be tampering. The league acknowleged that the Roughriders did not work out the 24-year-old Texas A&M product.

“The Saskatchewan Roughriders have been notified of the league's decision and accept their disciplinary action,” Jones said in a statement. “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 Roughriders as a team were also fined $31,500 for two violations of CFL by-laws relating to suspended players attending practice and the recruitment of a junior player.

As TSN Senior Correspondent Gary Lawless notes, this is the fifth fine incurred by Jones since joining the Roughriders in December of 2015.

A $2,500 fine was also announced for the B.C. Lions for violating a league by-law in regards to the contract for the 2015 CFL Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award winner, linebacker Adam Bighill.

TSN's Farhan Lalji notes that the fine stems from the team putting a timeline on Bighill's release from the team in order to pursue NFL opportunities. Bighill, 28, signed with the New Orleans Saints in January. While CFL teams routinely release players to seek NFL openings, the Lions publicly stated in their December 9 press release that Bighill had agreed to return to the Lions had he not signed with an NFL team by January 27. Because of this, Bighill wasn't a true free agent, which violated the league by-law.

The CFL also noted in the release that there were no salary cap violations for 2016, as no team exceeded the $5.1-million limit.

The 2017 salary cap has been set at $5.15 million.