The NFL has cracked down on fighting at joint practices. Sort of.
For the second time in two years, the NFL has fined teams for fighting at joint practices. The players involved weren’t fined.
The league, in August 2024, fined the Giants and Lions $200,000 each for fighting during joint practices. And while the price tag for the Saints and Cowboys increased the punishment by 150 percent — to $500,000 each — the NFL still isn’t fining the players who threw punches and/or otherwise were involved in the extracurricular violence.
The ultimate offense happened four years ago, when Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald swung helmets at a joint practice with the Bengals. At the time, we explained that the league has a longstanding practice of clubs being responsible for overseeing the conduct of players at practice, including joint practices.
While the teams have the authority to fine players, the league doesn’t do it. If the league ever began issuing the kind of discipline for practice fights that the league issues for fights during games, the fights would end.
Maybe it’s a CBA issue. Maybe the league simply doesn’t want to ask the NFL Players Association for the power to issue those fines.
Of course, the NFLPA should want to create mechanisms for protecting players from injuries inflicted during those fights. But that’s not how collective bargaining works. If one side wants to change the status quo, the other side will want something in return — even if there’s a mutual benefit arising from the request that was made.
