7 Biggest Fines in NFL History

The NFL has doled out some big fines in recent years, with the $250,000 penalty slapped on both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns the most recent example of how the league can impact a team financially. $250,000 is a ton of cash, but that is a paltry sum compared to the biggest fines in NFL history. Here are the seven heaviest financial sanctions of all time within the league.

7. New Orleans Saints: $500,000

Bountygate was a black eye on the reputations of head coach Sean Payton and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, as several Saints defenders were found to have been paid bonuses if they injured opposing players. While Payton was suspended for a full season and Williams was suspended indefinitely, the organization was hit with a $500,000 fine in 2012 and stripped of draft picks.

6. Jim Irsay, Indianapolis Colts: $500,000

Irsay consistently finds himself in hot water just as soon as any negative PR is starting to die down. After being arrested on suspicion of drug possession and driving under the influence in Indiana in 2014, the Indianapolis Colts owner was sent to rehab for a brief period. The league fined him $500,000 and suspended him for six games after he was found guilty and sentenced to one year of probation.

5. Bill Belichick, New England Patriots: $500,000

You know the story by now. Spygate. Belichick and the New England Patriots were found guilty of videotaping the defensive signals of New York Jets' coaches during a game. Belichick himself was dealt a $500,000 fine in 2007 while the team was stripped of a first round draft pick. The team has more than rebounded on the field, but their reputation off of it is still less than savory thanks to stunts like this.

4. Jamal Lewis, Baltimore Ravens: $760,000

Lewis, who tallied more than 10,000 yards rushing in his career, was fined $760,000 in 2005. He was involved in a phone call related to purchasing cocaine, and was convicted of conspiracy of possession with intent to distribute, for which he did four months in prison. While he never played another game for the Ravens, he bounced back on the field with the Cleveland Browns the following year. His reputation, however, was in tatters.

3. Eddie DeBartolo Jr., San Francisco 49ers: $1 Million

Eddie DeBartolo Jr. is remembered as the man who oversaw the Bill Walsh and George Seifert 49ers to championship glory from 1977-2000, but his tenure ended in a very unsavory way. DeBartolo was charged with failing to report a felony as it related to the 1998 extortion trial of former Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards. He was fined $1 million and banned by the league for a year, and as a result, DeBartolo seceded operations to his sister Denise York and was out of football after that.

2. New England Patriots: $1 Million

Patriots? You again? In case you've been living under a rock the last four years, the league suspended quarterback Tom Brady for four games (in 2016) and fined the team $1 million due to the Deflategate scandal, in which the Pats were accused of deflating footballs in the 2014 AFC Championship. The validity of Deflategate is still argued about to this day, but at the end of the day, the punishments didn't slow the Pats down, as they went on to win the 2016 Super Bowl, despite not having Brady for the first four games of the year.

1. Denver Broncos: $1.9 Million

The NFL doesn't like to be made a fool of, and the Broncos did just that when they cleverly skirted around the league's salary cap rules. By deferring nearly $29 million in payments to John Elway and Terrell Davis -- and a few other creative ways to stay under the league's cap -- Denver was fined in excess of $950,000 on two separate occasions, losing two third round picks in the process.