Brandon Marshall wide receiver for the Chicago Bears was fined $10,500 earlier this season for wearing green coloured cleats during week 6 game against the Giants. Tennessee Titans safety Michael Griffin fined $21,000 on a helmet-to-helmet hit on Oakland Raiders tight end Mychal Rivera. Richie Incognito fined a record $1 million dollars fine for bullying fellow rookie team mate.
The NFL is known to be aggressive when handing out fines to players or coaches, from players acting unsportsmanlike like in game or off the field to the coaches being fined for cursing at officials. Most have heard of a story of two about players having to pay large amount of money to the league but does anyone know where that money actually goes? Ryan Clark safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers publicly challenged the NFL to give back fine money in the event of a player lockout. Clark questioned why the NFL does not give back the fines to the players who have to support there family’s and are forced to pay large fines from there own salaries for minor actions such as celebrating to long in the end-zone after a touchdown.
The NFL responded by explaining what they do with the fines they collect over the seasons. According to the NFL all on field fines go to the NFL Player Care Foundation which helps retired NFL players with financial, medical and emotional assistance. Another way the money is split is the NFL Players Association Player Assistance Trust, a fund that helps professional and amateur football players’ families during a crisis. Also the NFL is known to provide help in large disasters such as the Haiti earthquake where the NFL donated $2.5 million dollars to aid in relief and recovery efforts. I guess the owners are not so bad after all but do you think they should look to give back the fine money to players rather then charity’s?
Gridiron 
I think it’s awesome they are putting the money to good use, but they should be more selective when handing out fines. The color of someone’s cleat’s doesn’t affect the game, nor is it a testament to character, and is not offending or hurting anyone. They should be able to show some creativity like the NHL goalies get to have unique helmets!
Brandon Marshall is just too badass, he knew he was going to get fined by the league, but decided to wear the green cleats anyways. He did it for a good cause trying to bring more attention to Mental Health Awareness Week. Although I think the NFL were correct in handing out the fine because they have to stay consistent with the rules, plus having different coloured cleats gives the player an extra advantage over the defence.