4t Danica Patrick is not happy with the NFL over the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show. Over the weekend, the NFL, Roc Nation, and Apple Music announced that Bad Bunny would perform the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show at Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco, California.
Danica Patrick is not happy with the NFL over the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show. Over the weekend, the NFL, Roc Nation, and Apple Music announced that Bad Bunny would perform the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show at Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco, California.
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NFL exec Jon Barker discussed the decision to have Bad Bunny perform the Super Bowl halftime show despite the fact that all of his songs are in Spanish.
“Bad Bunny represents the global energy and cultural vibrancy that define today’s music scene. As one of the most influential and streamed artists in the world, his unique ability to bridge genres, languages, and audiences makes him an exciting and natural choice to take the Super Bowl halftime stage,” said Jon Barker, SVP of Global Event Production for the NFL.
“We know his dynamic performances, creative vision, and deep connection with fans will deliver the kind of unforgettable experience we’ve come to expect from this iconic cultural moment.”
On Monday, Danica Patrick voiced her displeasure with Bad Bunny being picked as the Super Bowl halftime show performer.
While Patrick and others are angry, it’s clear that the NFL is trying to cater to global audiences in an effort to grow the game internationally.
Jorge Alonso is a BroBible Sports Editor who has been covering the NBA, NFL, and MLB professionally for over 10 years, specializing in digital media. He isa Miami native and lifelong Heat fan.
These are the largest individual fines that have been handed out to people in the world of sports
McLaren’s F1 team is responsible for the largest fine that’s ever been handed out in the world of athletics, as the organization had to fork out $100 million in 2008 after it was caught spying on Ferrari by illegally obtaining schematics that painstakingly detailed the design of the car it had used the previous year.
There are also a number of sports franchises that have been forced to fork over a hefty sum; the Devils forfeited $3 million for circumventing the salary cap to sign Ilya Kovalchuk in 2010, while the Timberwolves coughed up $3.5 million for using similarly shady tactics to secure the talents of Joe Smith in 1999. However, no single person has had to deal with a bigger one than these.
For the purpose of this list, I’m only looking at situations where players were explicitly fined for something as opposed to being hit with a de facto one by being forced to forfeit a paycheck due to a suspension. I’ve done what I can to be as exhaustive as possible, and from what I can tell, these account for the biggest individual fines in the history of sports.
Sadio Mane: $553,000 For Punching A Teammate
Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Sadio Mane is best known for what he achieved during the six seasons he spent with Liverpool, and in 2022, the winger kicked off a new chapter by taking his talents to Germany to play for Bayern Munich.
However, his time with the team did not last as long as they had anticipated. Mane was sidelined with an ankle injury that prevented him from playing for Senegal in the World Cup that year, but he was able to return to the Bundesliga club by the end of February 2023.
Things took an unexpected turn less than two months later after Mane was suspended for punching his own teammate, Leroy Sane, in the locker room following a 3-0 loss to Manchester City in the Champions League quarterfinal.
He was suspended and reportedly fined €500,000 (~$530,000), and while he returned to help the club win the Bundesliga that year, he subsequently departed to Saudi Arabia to play for Al-Nassr.
Mark Cuban: $600,000 For Admitting To Tanking
Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
Owners comprise a significant chunk of the entries on this list, and NBA fans won’t be surprised to see noted Fine Merchant Mark Cuban make an appearance.
The man who purchased the Mavericks in 2000 before selling the franchise in 2023 paid the NBA millions of dollars during his time as majority owner thanks to his tendency to speak his mind, knowing he could easily afford to use the billions of dollars at his disposal to cover the cost of any consequences.
It was clear Dallas was not making the playoffs when they headed into the All-Star break with an 18-40 record in 2018, and Cuban said the quiet part out loud on a podcast with Julius Irving by acknowledging it was in their best interest to lose as many games as possible to increase their odds of landing the top overall pick.
He noted Adam Silver “would hate hearing that,” and the commissioner confirmed that was the case by fining him $600,000 for “public statements detrimental to the NBA.”
If you’re curious, the Mavericks ended up getting the third pick and used it to select Luka Doncic, which worked out pretty well for them until he ended up at the center of the most shocking trade in the history of the league.
Jamal Lewis: $760,000 For Drug Trafficking
Tom Szczerbowski-Imagn Images
Jamal Lewis spent a decade in the NFL, and in 2003, the running back won Offensive Player of the Year honors after being just the fifth player to join The 2,000-Yard Club by recording 2,066 of them on the ground with the Ravens.
However, things took a turn in the offseason, as he was arrested and charged over a phone call in 2000 where he attempted to buy five kilograms of cocaine from an undercover FBI agent. He spent four months in prison in 2004 and was suspended for two games, forcing him to forfeit those paychecks on top of the $760,000 fine he was ordered to pay.
Eddie DeBartolo Jr.: $1 Million For A Riverboat Casino Bribe
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In 1977, shopping mall magnate Edward DeBartolo Sr. bought a gift for his son (and namesake) in the form of the San Francisco 49ers. The team staged a dramatic turnaround in the wake of the purchase that ushered in a tenure where they’d win five Super Bowls under the watch of Eddie Jr. with some help from notable names including Steve Young, Joe Montana, and Jerry Rice.
However, things came crashing down after he was implicated in an extortion scandal concerning disgraced Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards. DeBartolo had applied for a license for a riverboat casino in the Shreveport area and secured it with the help of the $400,000 he put in a briefcase and handed to Edwards at a diner in San Francisco in 1997— the day before the application was approved.
DeBartolo paid a $1 million fine to the government and was hit with two years of probation. However, that was just the start, as he ceded control of the team to his sister, Denise York, after NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue suspended him for the 1999 season and ordered him to pay an additional $1 million to the league.
Donald Sterling: $2.5 Million For Racist Comments
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Most NBA fans are familiar with the saga that led to the downfall of the man who purchased the Clippers in 1981 before he was forced to sell the franchise in 2014.
Why? Well, TMZ obtained a recording of a phone call between Sterling and his mistress, a woman named V. Stiviano, where he complained about a photo where she posed with Magic Johnson, saying, “It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you’re associating with black people.”
That led to Adam Silver holding the press conference where he announced Sterling had been banned from associating with the Clippers and the NBA “for life,” and he was ordered to pay a $2.5 million fine before selling the franchise to Steve Ballmer for $2 billion.
Mike Tyson: $3 Million For Biting Off A Chunk Of Evander Holyfield’s Ear
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Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield faced off in the ring for the first time in 1996, and the latter walked away as the heavyweight champion after handing his opponent what was just the second loss of his career with a victory via TKO in the second round.
All eyes were on the rematch that was held in Las Vegas the following year, and fans who tuned in were treated to one of the most infamous fights in the history of boxing after Tyson was disqualified for biting off a chunk of Holyfield’s ear.
Iron Mikek was initially banned for life, and while he ultimately returned to the ring in 1998, he did have to pay a $3 million fine.
DeShaun Watson: $5 Million For All Of Those Misconduct Allegations
Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
A number of people on this list have experienced a dramatic fall from grace, and that is certainly the case with DeShaun Watson.
Watson emerged as a star with the Texans, but in 2021, he was hit with the first in a string of lawsuits filed by the more than two dozen women who accused him of sexual assault and misconduct. That didn’t prevent the Browns from trading for the quarterback, who was still dealing with those legal issues when he headed to Cleveland in 2022.
Watson settled the majority of those cases out of court, and while he was never criminally charged, the NFL still suspended him for 11 games and hit him with a $5 million fine.
Robert Sarver: $10 Million For Fostering A Toxic Work Environment
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Oh look, another billionaire owner!
Robert Sarver purchased the Phoenix Suns in 2004 and quickly earned a reputation for being anything but hands-off thanks to his preference to rule the franchise with an iron fist.
In 2021, ESPN published an explosive report chronicling a toxic work environment rife with allegations of sexism and racism, and the NBA launched an investigation that led to Sarver being suspended for a year and paying a $10 million fine.
Ben Simmons: Over $19 Million For Holding Out
Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
It’s easy to joke that Ben Simmons has spent a sizeable chunk of his NBA career refusing to play basketball, but the man who flamed out in fairly spectacular fashion after getting off to a hot start with the 76ers literally refused to suit up for the team ahead of the 2021-22 season after they declined to give in to his trade demand.
The point guard held out until he was traded to the Nets prior to the All-Star Break after skipping 54 games. He was reportedly fined $360,000 for each one he missed while not receiving a paycheck, which amounted to a grand total of $19,440,000.
Simmons ultimately filed a grievance to dispute those fines and recoup the salary he never received, and while the matter was eventually settled, the details of that arrangement were never publicly revealed.
Dan Snyder: $60 Million For So Many Things
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Dan Snyder was a widely reviled figure who made plenty of enemies after buying the team that is now known as the Washington Commanders despite doing everything in his power to stop the franchise he bought in 1999 from abandoning its original moniker.
That literal case of institutional racism ended up being the least of his problems after The Washington Post published a bombshell exposé in 2020 involving lewd videos of cheerleaders, sexual harassment, hush money, blackmail, prostitution, and workplace abuse.
That sparked an NFL investigation that also focused on revenue he improperly withheld from the league. That ultimately led to Snyder selling the team and forking over a $60 million fine to the NFL, which remains the largest sum a single individual in the world of sports has had to pay as a form of restitution.
