We’ve previously reported that three teams have been fined for having contact during the lockout with players. To date, only the Buccaneers have been identified. We’ve previously reported that the fines are in the six figures.
Today, ESPN’s Adam Schefter supplies the amount, as to the Bucs. Per Schefter, the league office fined the Buccaneers $250,000.
The Buccaneers declined comment in response to Schefter’s report.
The league remains fiercely tight lipped on the issue, refusing to identify the other teams who were fined and refusing to divulge any of the amounts. Both the league office and the Titans have denied that a fine was imposed on the Tennessee franchise for lockout contact based on an admission from receiver Kenny Britt that he heard from receivers coach Dave Ragone “all summer long.” (If the Titans truly got a pass on this, the Bucs should be livid.)
Full transparency would serve the league much better in this context, and not simply because we like to have content. With discipline imposed on players for on-field and off-field infractions routinely making headlines, secrecy regarding teams who break the rules is more than a bit hypocritical.