The Atlanta Falcons have been fined and docked a Draft pick for pumping in crowd noise into their stadium.
The NFC South outfit were deemed guilty after an NFL investigation proved that they had illegally pumped in noise into the Georgia Dome during their home fixtures in the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
As a result, the club have been fined $350,000 (£237,000) and have been docked their fifth-round selection in the 2016 Draft. Meanwhile, president Rich McKay has been banned from the NFL competition committee for three months.
The league concluded that Falcons director of event marketing Roddy White was responsible for the act, but still deemed it serious enough to punish McKay.
The NFL said in a statement: "Our review also determined that Falcons ownership and senior executives, including team president Rich McKay, were unaware of Mr. White's use of an audio file with artificial crowd noise.
"However, Mr McKay, as the senior club executive overseeing game operations, bears some responsibility for ensuring that team employees comply with league rules.
"As a result, Mr. McKay will be suspended from the competition committee beginning April 1. He may petition commissioner [Roger] Goodell for reinstatement to the committee no sooner than June 30."
Falcons owner Arthur Blank added: "The Falcons and all of our other businesses are built upon a foundation of values that drive our decision making.
"This issue was a clear failure in that regard. I apologise for any embarrassment this situation has caused the NFL, our fans, and our Falcons players and associates."
The Falcons finished with a 6-10 record in the 2014 season.
