The offseason of NFL administrative drama continues as the league is fining over 100 players and two dozen club employees, according to Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press. The fines are a result of violations of a league policy prohibiting players and employees in the NFL from personally profiting off of their league benefits at the expense of the fans.
The league benefit in question in this particular case is one that allows players on all 32 teams to purchase two tickets for the Super Bowl. It’s a perk outlined in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, but that same CBA prohibits league or team employees, including players, “from selling NFL game tickets acquired from their employer for more than the ticket’s face value or for an amount greater than the employee originally paid for the ticket.”
According to a league investigation, which is still in progress, “club employees and players sold their tickets to a small number of ‘bundlers’ who were working with a ticket reseller to sell the Super Bowl tickets above face value.” Club employees who resold their tickets will be forced to pay a fine of twice the face value of the tickets they purchase. Some of the club employees involved in the violation were reportedly coaches.
Players who resold their tickers will have to pay a fine of 1.5 times the face value they paid for the ticket. The players involved also will not be allowed to utilize their two-ticket allotment for the next two Super Bowls, unless they are playing in the game. ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. and Tisha Thompson add that players who decline to pay the fines could face a suspension from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, adding that several have already accepted the fines in order to avoid missing game time.
The league also warns that the ‘bundlers,’ anyone who directly sold their ticket for a profit, or anyone who “otherwise had a greater role” will face heavier penalties. In the announcement, no players’ or employees’ names were revealed. Ultimately, the league will enhance mandatory compliance training before Super Bowl LX to emphasize the rules and “the broader principle that no one should profit personally from their NFL affiliation at the expense of (the) fans.”
