METAIRIE, Louisiana – The New Orleans Saints was the only NFL team to officially lose a draft choice for violations of the NFL-NFLPA’s COVID protocols during the 2020 season, according to the league.
The saints were officially transferred to a draft sixth round selection in 2022 and fined $ 700,000 after the appeals process was completed. The Las Vegas Raiders, for their part, did not lose a choice in the draft, but were fined $ 800,000.
A league source said the Saints were punished for several violations and warnings, in addition to the three that were reported during the season. These reported incidents included:
• The Saints being fined $ 250,000 and coach Sean Payton $ 100,000 because Payton was not wearing a mask properly on the sideline during a Week 2 game.
• Saints being fined $ 500,000 and missing a draft in the seventh round are considered repeat offenders because Payton and the players were seen without masks during a post-game celebration in Week 9.
• Santos facing more discipline after a person not hired by the team was spotted near players when the league analyzed the video while following up on close contacts with Alvin Kamara when he tested positive in December.
Saints did not immediately comment on the league’s final decision. But sources made it clear after the season that the team did not agree with the severity of the punishments and planned to appeal them. One point of contention was that there were several other examples of players from other teams being seen without masks in several post-game videos throughout the year.
A league source specified that the Week 9 incident was just one of several violations and that the Saints were not singled out for the nature of the players dancing in the video or the fact that it was posted on social media.
The Raiders were also facing the reported loss of a sixth round draft choice and fines for what a source described to ESPN as “blatant and repeated protocol violations”.
Among the infractions reported by the Raiders were coach Jon Gruden not wearing a mask correctly on the sideline, the team allowing an unauthorized employee to access the locker room after a game and the players appearing without a mask and mixing with the crowd at Darren Waller’s charity.
Other teams that reportedly faced fines for COVID violations throughout the year include the Tennessee Titans, the New England Patriots, the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers.