Foster Fined, And Ocho's Reimbursing Him Anyway
You may not like everything he does, but like it or not, Patriots wide receiver Chad Ochocinco is a man of his word.
 Patriots receiver Chad Ochocinco is a man of his word. (FILE:Icon/SMI) |
Tampa Bay linebacker Mason Foster got word from the league office on Wednesday afternoon that he's been fined $20,000 for his hit on Ochocinco last Thursday night, although Foster's agent reportedly said he plans on appealing it.
It may be a moot point, because win or lose, Foster's ultimately not going to lose out.
Despite the report on Saturday that if Ochocinco reimbursed Foster he'd be fined himself, the veteran wideout told commissioner Roger Goodell directly Wednesday that he's going to do it anyway.
Tweeted Ocho: "@nflcommish Dad no disrespect but I don't agree with @mason_foster fine n I'll be reimbursing him personally.Please feel free to contact me"
It's a hefty fine for Foster, but one interesting thing worth noting is the fact that he'll likely end up paying a lower amount. According to ProFootballTalk.com, the new Collective Bargaining Agreement protects players from excessive fines of more than 25 percent of their weekly base salary for a first offense of an on-field infraction.
Foster’s 2011 base salary is reportedly the rookie minimum of $375,000. So that being said, he could potentially appeal and get the fine reduced to 25 percent of his weekly pay of $22,058.82, which means his actual fine would be $5,514.71.
Either way it sounds like he won't be paying it if Ochocinco gets his way. Hopefully he'll be able to simply get it lowered a bit and return the favor, saving #85 some money for his generosity.
Pittsburgh's James Harrison asked Ochocinco via Twitter about the fact he could also be fined for giving Foster the money. However, he doesn't care and apparently had money left over from 'last years fine fund,' which is something he's always set aside for in the past. Apparently now that he's playing for Bill Belichick, he claims he 'won't need it in New England'.
