New fine reimbursement system would have saved players $1.7 million annually in recent years

Published August 27, 2026 10:17 AM At a time when the NFL would love to do a comprehensive deal with the NFL Players Association on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement that would expand the regular season to 18 games (and that would allow up to 16 international games per season), the NFL and the NFLPA found a way to get another important piece of business done.The new system regarding the enforcement of player-safety rules allows for players to recover half, or all, of the fine money paid for a violation of on-field rules. On Wednesday, the NFLPA informed players that the new system would have resulted in an average total refund of roughly $1.7 million per year “in recent years.”Here’s how it works. For the five specific rules that trigger a suspension for three violations (hip-drop tackles, horse-collar tackles, launching, hits on defenseless players and blindside blocks), a player with only one violation in a given season gets 50 percent of the fine money back at the end of the year.While certain violations result in no refund (offenses against game officials, fighting, throwing a punch, forearm, or kick, and violent gestures), a single violation as to all other on-field rules (e.g., facemask) results in a 100-percent refund.In 2024 and 2025, roughly 50 players per year would have gotten a 50-percent refund, and roughly 200 players per year would have gotten a 100-percent refund. There’s a very important caveat as to eligibility for a refund. The player must have appealed the fine in order to get the money. Therefore, all fines should be appealed — even if the player has no real basis for the appeal.Moving forward, that’s the thing for all players and agents to remember. Every fine must be appealed. Then, potentially, all or half of the money will be refunded, even if the appeal fails.