Tag: fine

Nov 26, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos offensive tackle Garett Bolles (72) holds Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) in the second quarter at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Report: Myles Garrett fined $25K for criticizing officials

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The NFL fined Browns defensive end Myles Garrett $25,000 for comments he made criticizing officials, Cleveland.com reported Saturday.

Following last Sunday’s 31-27 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Garrett didn’t hold back when talking with reporters after the game.

“The officiating was a travesty today,” Garrett said. “It was honestly awful. And the fact that they’re letting them get away with hands to the face, holding, false starting — I know they called a couple, but damn, they could have called it all game. And (there was) the one that cost us down on the 2-yard line.”

The Browns were penalized eight times for 75 yards. Officials flagged the Jaguars seven times for 40 yards.

“I mean, respect to those guys, it’s a hard job, but hell, we have a hard job as well,” Garrett said of the officials. “You can’t make it harder by throwing holding and hands to the face out (of) the rulebook. And like I said, I got a lot of respect for those guys, but we get scrutinized for the plays that we don’t make. So someone has to hold them accountable for the plays or the calls they don’t make. And they need to be under the same kind of microscope as we are every single play.”

Garrett, 27, is in his seventh NFL season, all with the Browns. He twice has been named first-team All-Pro.

–Field Level Media

Oct 15, 2023; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills defensive end Shaq Lawson (90) warms up before a game New York Giants at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Report: Bills fine DE Shaq Lawson for Philly fan interaction

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The Buffalo Bills are fining defensive end Shaq Lawson an undisclosed amount for his interaction with a fan in Philadelphia last month, NFL Network reported Friday.

Lawson issued an apology following the incident that occurred during the Bills’ 37-34 loss to the Eagles in overtime on Nov. 26.

A video circulated on social media of Lawson approaching a spectator behind the Buffalo bench, exchanging words and then shoving the fan.

Lawson said the fan began heckling players before the game started and was allowed to remain in his seat even after Bills officials asked security to remove him.

“Eventually our emotions boiled over and I made a mistake,” Lawson wrote the next day on Instagram. “For that, I apologize, but there are certain lines that should not be crossed.

“I love the crowd. I love rowdy fans. It makes the game fun. But one thing I’m not going to tolerate is someone threatening me or my family. This is a line that shouldn’t be crossed.”

Lawson, 29, has recorded one sack and 10 tackles in 11 games this season. He has 26 sacks in 104 games (37 starts) with the Bills (2016-19, 2022-present), Miami Dolphins (2020) and New York Jets (2021).

–Field Level Media

Nov 2, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson (18) makes the game winning touchdown against the Tennessee Titans during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Pittsburgh won 20-16. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Report: Steelers’ Diontae Johnson fined $25K for criticizing officials

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Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson was fined $25,000 by the NFL for his criticism of officials following his team’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Pro Football Talk reported Sunday.

“Refs were just killing us the whole game,” Johnson said following the Steelers’ 20-10 loss to the Jaguars on Oct. 29, per ESPN. “… I didn’t like the refs today. They must’ve got paid good today or something, but they blew — that field goal, that hurt us coming into the half. We needed that.”

Johnson was referring to an offside call that negated Chris Boswell’s 56-yard field goal. Boswell missed the ensuing 61-yard attempt.

Johnson, 27, had eight catches for 85 yards in that game versus Jacksonville. He added seven receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown in Pittsburgh’s 20-16 win over the Tennessee Titans on Thursday, boosting his season totals to 23 grabs for 302 yards and one touchdown in five games.

A Pro Bowl selection in 2021, Johnson has 363 catches for 3,948 yards and 21 touchdowns in 69 games (60 starts) since the Steelers drafted him in the third round in 2019.

–Field Level Media

Oct 8, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) gestures with fullback Kyle Juszczyk (44) after scoring a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys during the third quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Report: George Kittle fined for vulgar anti-Cowboys shirt

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The NFL fined San Francisco tight end George Kittle for wearing a vulgar T-shirt under his jersey last Sunday night, ESPN reported Friday.

In the fourth quarter of the 49ers’ 42-10 win against the Cowboys, Kittle raised his red No. 85 jersey to reveal a grey shirt with the words “F— Dallas” in blue letters.

Kittle, who said he expected to be fined, will reportedly have to cough up $13,659 for his use of abusive language — or $4,553 for each of the three touchdowns he scored against Dallas.

“I wore a personalized T-shirt, maybe an inappropriate word,” Kittle told reporters Thursday. “So it is what it is. It was a decision I made. If they want to fine me, they fine me.”

Kittle, who turned 30 on Monday, scored his first three touchdowns of the season against the Cowboys, finishing the lopsided win with 67 yards.

The four-time Pro Bowl selection has 412 catches for 5,469 yards and 34 touchdowns in 87 games (79 starts) since the 49ers drafted him in the fifth round in 2017.

–Field Level Media

Feb 2, 2022; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Commanders co-owner Dan Snyder speaks as co-owner Tanya Snyder (L) listens during a press conference revealing the Commanders as the new name for the formerly named Washington Football Team at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Dan Snyder to pay $60 million in wake of Mary Jo White findings

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Dan Snyder will pay the NFL $60 million in fines after an investigation by Mary Jo White found he was complicit in both sexual misconduct and financial improprieties during his time as owner of the Washington Commanders.

The findings of White’s investigation, which began in February 2022, were released Thursday afternoon shortly after NFL team owners approved the $6.05 billion sale of the Commanders to billionaire Josh Harris with a unanimous 32-0 vote.

“We appreciate the diligence, thoroughness and professionalism of Ms. White and her team throughout this process,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “We pledged to share her findings publicly and are doing so today.”

White, the former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, found evidence that Snyder sexually harassed a former Commanders team employee, Tiffani Johnston. The former cheerleader and marketing manager testified to Congress last year that Snyder put his hand on her thigh and pushed her toward his limo at a work-related dinner.

The league expanded the scope of White’s investigation beyond harassment and workplace culture to financial improprieties in April 2022. A former sales executive for Washington, Jason Friedman, told Congress that Snyder had the team withhold its true amount of shareable revenue meant to be split with other teams.

White’s investigation found that $11 million in revenue was “improperly shielded” from other teams and a “significant portion” of another $44 million in revenue was illicitly moved from shareable to non-shareable accounts.

White’s team interviewed Snyder remotely on June 29 after the unpopular team owner previously declined to be interviewed, the Washington Post reported.

White delivered her findings to team owners Thursday at a hotel in Bloomington, Minn., where the owners met to vote in Harris.

The principal owner of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and NHL’s New Jersey Devils led an investment group that bought the Commanders for a record $6.05 billion.

–Field Level Media

Feb 12, 2023; Glendale, Arizona, US; Philadelphia Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson (23) tackles Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco (10) during the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Eagles’ C.J. Gardner-Johnson appealing Super Bowl fine

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Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson will appeal his fine from Super Bowl LVII, his agent told NFL Network on Friday.

The NFL fined Gardner-Johnson $14,111 for lowering his head to initiate contact with the helmet of Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco.

Gardner-Johnson, 25, was not flagged on the play that occurred in the fourth quarter of Philadelphia’s 38-35 loss to Kansas City on Sunday in Glendale, Ariz.

Kevin Conner of Universal Sports & Entertainment Management confirmed the fine and the plan to appeal.

Gardner-Johnson shared the NFL lead with six interceptions in his first season with the Eagles in 2022, adding 67 tackles and one sack in 12 games (all starts).

He spent his first three seasons with New Orleans and has 11 interceptions, four sacks and 228 tackles in 55 career games (43 starts) with the Saints and Eagles.

–Field Level Media

Oct 9, 2022; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) throws the ball against the Atlanta Falcons during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Report: NFL fining Tom Brady $11K for kicking player

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Tom Brady has made a fortune with his arm, but his leg reportedly will cost him $11,139.

ESPN reported Friday that the NFL has informed the Buccaneers quarterback he will be fined that much for kicking Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett on Sunday.

Jarrett was penalized for unnecessary roughness on the play late in the fourth quarter of Tampa Bay’s 21-15 win. Brady swung his leg at Jarrett as both players were getting up but did not make contact.

Brady, 45, has passed for 1,409 yards with seven touchdowns and one interception in five starts this season, the seven-time Super Bowl champion’s 23rd NFL campaign.

–Field Level Media

Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross enters field before game against Los Angeles Chargers in Miami Gardens, September 29, 2019. [ALLEN EYESTONE/The Palm Beach Post] Maimi Dolphins Vs Los Angeles Chargers

Dolphins’ owner suspended, fined $1.5M; team loses draft picks

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The NFL on Tuesday suspended and fined Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and stripped the team of two draft picks following a league investigation into tampering and tanking allegations from 2019-22.

A six-month probe led by former U.S. attorney Mary Jo White found the club had “impermissible communications” with Tom Brady on two occasions in an effort to lure the star quarterback to Miami, as well as with the agent for former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton.

The Dolphins forfeit a first-round pick in 2023 and a third-round selection in 2024. Ross was suspended from all activities through Oct. 17 and fined $1.5 million by the league. He was removed indefinitely from all league committees.

“The investigators found tampering violations of unprecedented scope and severity,” commissioner Roger Goodell said in a news release. “I know of no prior instance of a team violating the prohibition on tampering with both a head coach and star player, to the potential detriment of multiple other clubs, over a period of several years. Similarly, I know of no prior instance in which ownership was so directly involved in the violations.”

The investigation concluded that the Dolphins reached out to Brady as far back as 2019 when he was under contract with the rival New England Patriots and that both Ross and Bruce Beal, the team’s vice chairman and limited partner, were involved.

Beal was fined $500,000 and banned from attending any league meeting for the rest of the 2022 season.

The investigation, however, did not find evidence to support the claim of former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores that he was offered money to intentionally lose games to enhance the team’s draft position in 2020.

The report said the team “competed hard to win every game” but acknowledged that Ross made a number of comments that draft position “should take priority over the team’s win-loss record.”

When Flores expressed “his concerns in writing to senior club executives, each of whom assured Coach Flores that everyone, including Mr. Ross, supported him in building a winning culture in Miami,” the comments stopped, the report said.

“Every club is expected to make a good faith effort to win every game,” Goodell said. “The integrity of the game, and public confidence in professional football, demand no less. An owner or senior executive must understand the weight that his or her words carry, and the risk that a comment will be taken seriously and acted upon, even if that is not the intent or expectation. Even if made in jest and not intended to be taken seriously, comments suggesting that draft position is more important than winning can be misunderstood and carry with them an unnecessary potential risk to the integrity of the game.

“The comments made by Mr. Ross did not affect Coach Flores’ commitment to win and the Dolphins competed to win every game. Coach Flores is to be commended for not allowing any comment about the relative importance of draft position to affect his commitment to win throughout the season.”

Ross released a statement saying that although he “strongly disagree(s)” with the findings of tampering, he will accept the punishment. He also said he was pleased to put the tanking allegations to rest.

“The independent investigation cleared our organization of any issues related to tanking and all of Brian Flores’ other allegations. As I have said all along, these allegations were false, malicious and defamatory, and this issue is now put to rest,” Ross said.

“With regard to tampering, I strongly disagree with the conclusions and the punishment. However, I will accept the outcome because the most important thing is that there be no distractions for our team as we begin an exciting and winning season. I will not allow anything to get in the way of that.”

Ross, 82, who made billions in New York real estate, completed the purchase of the Dolphins and their stadium for $1 billion in 2009. In 2021, Forbes valued the team at $3.42 billion.

Flores was fired in January 2022 with two years remaining on his contract, despite leading Miami to back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2002-03.

Flores and his attorney, Douglas H. Wigdor, both released statements following Tuesday’s league announcement.

“We are certainly disheartened that the investigator, and apparently the Commissioner, excused highly inappropriate comments that go to the heart of the game’s integrity regarding tanking as being in jest especially when there was a letter written by Coach Flores at the time demonstrating the gravity with which these comments were received by Coach Flores,” Wigdor said.

Added Flores, “There is nothing more important when it comes to the game of football itself than the integrity of the game. When the integrity of the game is called into question, fans suffer, and football suffers.”

–Field Level Media

Jun 15, 2022; Ashburn, Virginia, USA; Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera speaks with the media after practice on day two of minicamp at The Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Reports: NFL fines Ron Rivera, docks Commanders two practices

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The NFL fined Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera $100,000 and stripped the team of two organized team activity practices in 2023 for conducting practices with excessive contact in spring sessions, multiple media outlets reported Friday.

ESPN reported the NFL Players Association reviewed the Commanders’ practice sessions on June 1 and 8 and informed the NFL’s Management Council that the team violated the league’s collective bargaining agreement.

This news comes on the heels of the NFL reportedly pushing back at the Dallas Cowboys for getting too physical in their organized team activities for a second consecutive year.

The league reportedly took away one OTA practice from the Cowboys for 2023, and head coach Mike McCarthy received a fine. ESPN reported that McCarthy was forced to pay $100,000.

ESPN reported Friday that the NFL fined Houston Texans head coach Lovie Smith $50,000 after learning that his offensive and defensive linemen engaged in prohibited one-on-one drills.

Friday’s reports from Washington come one week after the Commanders fined defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio $100,000 for the comments he posted to Twitter that downplayed the events at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The team said the money will be donated to the United States Capitol Police Memorial Fund.

–Field Level Media

Sep 13, 2021; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Trenton Cannon runs the ball against Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Denzel Perryman (52) during the first half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Report: Raiders’ Denzel Perryman fined $55K for Week 7 hit

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Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Denzel Perryman was fined $55,000 for unnecessary roughness/use of helmet linked to a play he made in a Week 7 game against the Philadelphia Eagles, ESPN reported.

The play occurred in the first quarter of the Oct. 24 game when Perryman attempted to tackle Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. The Raiders won 33-22. and Hurts played 100 percent of the offensive snaps in the game.

No penalty flag was called on the play.

ESPN said Perryman, 28, is appealing the fine.

The amount of the fine indicates Perryman is a repeat offender when it comes to use of helmet. The fine for a first offense is $20,600, and it’s $41,200 for a second offense, ESPN reported.

Heading into Sunday night’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Perryman is fourth in the NFL with 91 tackles. He is in his first season with the Raiders after spending six in the Chargers organization and has started all eight games.

In the offseason he signed a two-year, $6 million deal with the Carolina Panthers, who traded him and a 2022 seventh-round draft pick in August to the Raiders for a sixth-round draft pick in 2022.

–Field Level Media