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.”
Jimmy Haslam defrauded his own customers to the tune of millions and other than offering some rebates or something appears to have walked away with no punishment for this felonious activity as he continues to own an NFL team.
But, some players sold some tickets, eh?
Yep, teams got over $400M each in revenue sharing, but let’s distract people from the NFLPA scandals with this petty story.
Let’s not forget NFL owners lining their pockets with sports betting partnerships.
The Uber wealthy are preying on the masses.
Hey, Haslam was just trying out a new concept… you could say it was a Pilot program.
COTD!
You can show yourself out now…..
I mean, yeah he did, but that doesn’t make this also bad. Two things can both be bad independently. Scalping is already getting worse in general across tons of different industries (computer components, for example). Doing it with already insanely expensive tickets is also exploitative, even if the NFL’s entire merchandising existence is based on exploitation.
FTR, not excusing what the players did…
Just noting the discrepancy between who gets caught and punished and who gets caught.
We do a good job generally of nailing the peons making peanuts.
The big fish making the big bucks seem to elude our grasp more often.
Hey! They can’t do that! Only the NFL can do that!
*the sound of a hundred wrists being slapped simultaneously*
Next we’ll hear the players have been scandalously spending per diems on non necessities.
“ I didn’t want to do this, but I’m afraid I’m gonna have to pull rank on you. I’m with the Mattress Police. There are no tags on these mattresses.”
Roger Goodell: “We can use that money we collect in fines to convince fans that flag football is a great idea”.