I might be missing something... can someone let me know if I'm missing something?
NFL teams taping NFL games at the stadiums is allowed - assuming they have permission, as the Jets assert they had permission to tape a game against us but were thrown out by the Patriots because in fact they had not.
The NFL apparently is on the honor system when it comes to that, assuming that no team will turn their cameras on the sideline. Gotta love their trust on that one.
The NFL also is OK with signal stealing - even though most in the public view this as cheating, and think that's what makes the Patriots so bad.
The NFL also only clarified their own rule about videotaping signal calling in 2006 - before then the rule was simply that taping for game day use was prohibited - whereas in 2006 they clarified that to prohibit any taping of signal calling - but still let teams videotape the game itself, as long as the videographers swear they won't turn their cameras or telescopic microphones on the coaches.
Meanwhile, I've yet to hear anyone tell me what the rule is about videotaping practice sessions is... I do know that sometimes teams close practices to prevent that from happening. All I can assume is that if teams aren't interested in closing practices they can't fault scouts from watching - and assuming there is no rule, videotaping the practices.
So to the question at hand - if the Spygate stories are true, I find it difficult to get all twisted in a knot when the NFL couldn't be more convoluted about what it does or doesn't consider a rule violation on any given day of the week.