The Process of Fines

Troy Vincent was a terrific cornerback for the Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins. His best years came during his time with the Eagles. He was one of the best in the game during that time. He has been working with the NFLPA and in the NFL officers, including a stint as the president of the NFLPA from 2004-08. He is currently the executive vice president of NFL Football Operations. On Thursday, Vincent shared the NFL's step-by-step review process for on-field rules violations in a series of tweets. That process goes a little something like this:

1. A fine schedule is provided to players before each season. A schedule that is approved by the NFLPA. The schedule lists all of the infractions and the fines that can expected for a first and a second offense.

2. During an NFL game, initial calls by officials help determine on-field rules violations.

3. Every play-penalized or not-in every game is reviewed by the NFL Officiating Department. Violations are referred to the Operations Department.

4. Merton Hanks and Troy Vincent make initial decision whether to discipline. Discipline typically consists of a fine.

5. Players are notified by the NFL in writing with information about the rules violation and how to appeal.

6. Appeals for an on-field rules violation are heard by appeals officers Derrick Brooks and Ted Cottrell.

7. Only after appeals are decided by Brooks and Cottrell is any money withheld from an NFL player's paycheck.

8. Fine money is donated thru the NFL Foundation to assist former players. ~$4 million/year netted over the last five years.

Vincent also tweeted a few facts about infractions over recent years:

Total fines issued by the NFL have declined 32% since 2009 (668 to 451).

Fines for hits against defenseless players have declined 37.5% from 2012 to 2013 (40 to 25).

Fines for illegal hits against on quarterbacks have declined 47.3% since 2009 (114 to 60).

This is some interesting information and Vincent turning to twitter to reveal it was a nice move. Some of the process could have been assumed. The officials make the call on the field. A suit in an offense decides whether a fine should be further attached to the infraction. The player has the option to appeal. Another suit in an office rules on the appeal. Something like that. Now we know for sure. We also know the "whos" involved in the process. It's good to see that former players like Hanks, Vincent, Brooks and a former coach like Cottrell are the decision makers. It's also great to see that the former players are benefiting from the fine money. The players seeing a smaller check probably don't think that any of this all that great. It's also not great when the league turns the appeal process into a fiasco. There's no reason for a player, in this case Josh Gordon, having to wait three weeks for a ruling on his appeal. The NFL and appeals officer Harold Henderson should have had a decision on Gordon's appeal about two weeks ago.