The NFL’s system of fining players is the resulted of a negotiated process with the NFL Players Association. That doesn’t necessarily make it seem fair and reasonable, in application.
Case in point: Washington linebacker Jon Bostic was fined a mere $12,000 for the illegal hit on Cowboys quarterback Andy Dalton that knocked Dalton out of the game and left him with a concussion that will keep him from playing on Sunday night at Philadelphia.
Bostic was ejected for the illegal hit and not suspended.
Again, the punishments are largely automatic and the product of fairly mechanical application of the agreed-to fine schedule. It would seem, however, that the league and the union would agree to a more stringent punishment in situations like this, where a reckless technique inflicts a head injury.