Garvin’s Fine May Be Reduced Upon Appeal, But Not Necessarily

Terence Garvin is appealing the $25,000 fine he received from the league today. Reporter Alan Robinson of the Tribune writes that “Under the NFL’s labor agreement, a player can be fined only as much as one-quarter of his weekly pay”. Some Steelers bloggers are writing the same thing, though, this isn’t true. The collective bargaining agreement states in Article 46, Section 1, subsection d that-

“On appeal, a player may assert, among other defenses, that any fine should be reduced because it is excessive when compared to the player’s expected earnings for the season in question. However, a fine may be reduced on this basis 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. A player may also argue on appeal that the circumstances do not warrant his receiving a fine above the amount stated in the schedule of fines.”

As you can see, it only states that a player can list this as a reason for appeal, not that the league has to limit the fine to that amount.

The listed minimum fine for a hit on a defense player is $21,000 for the first offense, and double that for the second. While Garvin is likely to list the fine to salary ratio as reason for appeal, the league doesn’t have to reduce it, and I would be surprised if they did.