The NFL’s most-fined player in the 2024 season started the 2025 season as the only player fined twice by the league for infractions in Week 1.
Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch was fined $10,128 seven times by the NFL for a total of $70,896 during the 2024 season.
In Detroit’s 27-14 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Branch was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct on the opening possession of the game. That drew an $11,593 fine from the NFL for taunting.
The NFL also fined Branch $11,593 for unnecessary roughness for an uncalled face-mask infraction on the same play.
The 18 fines handed out by the NFL for Week 1 included six for unsportsmanlike conduct as the league aims to crack down on taunting. And like Branch, three of the other players fined were Alabama alumni.
Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, Packers safety Xavier McKinney and Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams were fined $11,593 apiece. McKinney was penalized on the field for unsportsmanlike conduct, but Jeudy and Williams were not.
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One of the other unnecessary-roughness penalties also went to a player with Alabama football roots. Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Jakorian Bennett, a former Alabama prep standout at McGill-Toolen in Mobile, received a $23,186 fine for a hip-drop tackle during a 24-10 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Bennett was not penalized on the field.
The NFL uses a collectively bargained schedule of fines to determine the amount of monetary punishment. The NFL’s Schedule of Fines also comes with aggravating and mitigating factors that can affect the size of a fine.
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