31. Tyrus Thomas Says The Dunk Contest Is Free Money

Year of Fine: 2007
Est. Fine Total: $10,000*
Former NBA player, Tyrus Thomas, was fined $10,000 for making remarks about the NBA dunk contest being “free money.” During a post-game interview in 2007, Thomas was asked about the dunk contest, to which he responded that it’s “free money.”

Tyrus Thomas Says The Dunk Contest Is Free Money ©Streeter Lecka / Getty Images
His comments didn’t sit well with the league, who felt that his remarks degraded the competition and were detrimental to the reputation of the NBA. As a result, Thomas was issued the fine and sent a message that such behavior won’t be tolerated.

32. Cam Newton Clips In With The Wrong Sponsor

Year of Fine: 2013
Est. Fine Total: $10,000*
In 2013, Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was fined $10,000 for wearing used helmet clips from a sponsor he was not under contract with. The NFL prohibits players from wearing any apparel or equipment that does not reflect the league’s official sponsors.

Cam Newton Clips In With The Wrong Sponsor ©Streeter Lecka / Getty Images
The fine was seen by some as excessive and unnecessary. Especially because it was just helmet clips. Then again, if the NFL makes an exception for a player to wear the helmet clips of their choice, what’s to stop chaos from ensuing? Next, some other player will be sporting an unapproved cap to a press conference.

33. Marty McSorley Goes For The Headshot

Year of Fine: 2000
Est. Fine Total: $72,000*
In 2000, former NHL player Marty McSorley was fined for hitting Donald Brashear in the head with his stick during a game. It resulted in the offender being suspended for the remaining 23 games of the season, as well as the playoffs. And a concussion for Brashear.

Marty McSorley Goes For The Headshot ©Focus On Sport / Getty Images
After the incident, the league implemented stricter rules for penalties and suspensions for players who used their sticks as weapons. The incident was widely publicized, leading to public outcry and widespread condemnation of McSorley’s actions. McSorley has since admitted he was aiming for Brashear’s shoulder but misfired.

34. Jamal Lewis Pleads Guilty To Drug Possession

Year of Fine: 2004
Est. Fine Total: $760,000*
Former Baltimore Ravens running back Jamal Lewis was considered a top-tier player for a few years in the early 2000s. He was also the Lewis on the Ravens who had not been charged with double homicide (side note: the charges against Ray Lewis were subsequently dropped).

Jamal Lewis Pleads Guilty To Drug Possesion ©Doug Pensinger/Getty Images
As it turned out, Jamal Lewis couldn’t keep himself out of trouble. A year removed from his near-record-breaking 2066-yard 2003 campaign, the running back was charged with “conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute cocaine.” Lewis’ Nike’s kept him away from defenders, but they couldn’t outrun the law or the $760,000 fine the NFL handed him for breaking protocol.

35. Charles Swing Used Oversized Engines

Year of Fine: 2009
Est. Fine Total: $200,000*
Fines in auto racing happen more frequently than most people would expect. But penalties as large as what Charles Swing had to pay for fitting his team’s sprint car with oversized engines at the 25th running of Nascar’s Sprint All-Star Race. But it wasn’t just the team’s crew chief that felt Nascar’s wrath.

Charles Swing Used Oversied Engines @tbeers62/Pinterest
Charles Swing was fined $200,000, which was a Nascar record at the time, and the team’s driver Carl Long was suspended for a record 12 races — both penalties unheard of in Nascar until then. Swing’s record fine was topped in 2013 by Michael Waltrip Racing’s $300,00o for its part in “Spingate.”

36. Serena Williams Gets A Code Violation During 2018 US Open

Year of Fine: 2018
Est. Fine Total: $17,000*
For all the titles Serena has celebrated over the years, she came up just short the last four times she played for Grand Slam glory. At the US Open Finals in 2018, Williams’ frustration caught up with Serena and cost her almost $20,000.

Serena Williams Gets A Code Violation During 2018 US Open ©Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images
Unpleased with how the umps had been calling the match and the penalties she had incurred during the said match, Serena lashed out — calling the ump a “liar” and a “thief.” In the end, it wasn’t just game points Williams had taken from her. Aside from the devastation of losing the Finals, she was also fined $17,000

37. McLaren Caught With Confidential Info

Year of Fine: 2007
Est. Fine Total: $100,000,000*
The McLaren-Mercedes F1 racing team apparently missed the memo about how confidential information isn’t for everyone because in 2007, the team was caught with info about Team Ferrari they were never supposed to see. This blatant violation of the International Sporting Code of Conduct cost McLaren F1 more than any other violators in sports history.

McLaren Caught With Confidential Info @McLarenRacing/Pinterest
For being in possession of private information about Ferrari’s F1 racing team, McLaren-Mercedes was fined $100 million, was stripped of all 8 titles it won that season, and excluded from championship contention for the year.

38. Dion Jordan Can’t Pass A Test

Year of Fine: 2014-2015
Est. Fine Total: $6.8 Million*
No player in NFL history has been fined more than the NFL’s most fined player, Dion Jordan. The former Miami Dolphin and Oakland Raider defensive end has been fined nearly $7 million throughout his career, with most of those fines coming in 2014 and 2015.

Dion Jordan Can’t Pass A Test ©Ron Elkman/Sports Imagery/Getty Images
Jordan’s fines were not due to mistreating other players or getting caught in a domestic abuse scandal. Sadly, Dion Jordan’s repeated offenses mostly involved drug use. 2014 brought Jordan substance abuse fines of $551,000 and $1.1 million, but the real doozy was the $5.2 million fine and season-long suspension he received for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2015.

39. Shawn Rogers Shows Up Armed To The Airport

Year of Fine: 2010
Est. Fine Total: $400,000*
According to the second amendment, every American of legal age has the “right to bear arms,” but that doesn’t mean they all should. While a member of the Cleveland Browns, defensive tackle Shaun Rogers took it upon himself to exercise his second amendment rights…in Cleveland’s Hopkins International airport.

Shawn Rogers Shows Up Armed To The Airport @clevelanddotcom/Pinterest
In case it was unclear, bringing a loaded gun to an airport is a BIG no-no. Rogers learned this the hard way, receiving a fine equivalent to one game’s pay — $400,000. Why Rogers thought it would be okay to carry a firearm to an airport in the first place remains a mystery to this day.

40. Irving Makes Another Poor Endorsement (2022 Suspension)

Year of Fine: 2022
Est. Fine Total: $3.75 Million*
Known for taking controversial stances over the years, Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving took his harshest stance in the fall of 2022 when he voiced his support for an antisemitic film. Irving was suspended and made to undergo sensitivity training for refusing to apologize and retract his support.

Irving Makes Another Poor Endorsement (2022 Suspension) ©Dustin Satloff /Getty Images
Since Irving’s 8-game suspension was without pay, it’s estimated that he lost over $3 million in salary. As one of the stipulations to let him play again, Kyrie also had to donate half a million dollars to a cause that promotes anti-hate rhetoric. That alone brings Kyrie’s latest salary deduction to about three and a quarter million dollars.