Source: $50K fine expected for Steelers’ Rudolph
The NFL is expected to fine Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph $50,000 — more than an entire game check — for his role in last week’s fight with Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, a source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on Saturday.
Rudolph, in the second year of his rookie deal, has a base salary of $658,267, which means his weekly check is $38,721.59 per game. He has said that he’d accept any discipline from the NFL, but Rudolph can appeal to have the fine reduced under NFL rules if it is deemed to be “excessive when compared to the player’s expected earnings for the season in question.”
Garrett was indefinitely suspended and fined for ripping off and swinging Rudolph’s helmet, hitting the quarterback in the head with it, with seconds remaining in the Thursday night game on Nov. 14. Rudolph initially tussled with Garrett on the ground and then charged at him after Garrett forcibly removed his helmet.
“For my involvement last week, there’s no acceptable excuse,” Rudolph said in a prepared statement Wednesday. “The bottom line is I should’ve done a better job keeping my composure in that situation and fall short of what I believe it means to be a Pittsburgh Steeler and a member of the NFL.”
Sources told ESPN that Garrett alleged during his appeal hearing with the NFL that Rudolph directed a racial slur at him just prior to the brawl — a claim that Rudolph has vehemently denied. The NFL said Thursday that it “found no such evidence” that a slur was used.
The NFL is expected to issue fines to about 10 players for leaving the bench area and running onto the field, league sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Sunday. A source told ESPN’s Jake Trotter on Thursday that Garrett was fined $45,623.
Article 46 of the collective bargaining agreement says players can appeal an excessive fine “only if it exceeds 25 percent of one week of a player’s salary for a first offense, and 50 percent of one week of a player’s salary for a second offense.”
Earlier in the week, appeals officer Derrick Brooks reduced the suspension of center Maurkice Pouncey from three games to two and upheld his $35,096 fine. Appeals officer James Thrash upheld the indefinite suspension for Garrett and a one-game ban for Browns defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi.