The National Football League has handed some of their coaches and teams hefty fines for failing to wear masks properly during Week 2 games. The league fined the Denver Broncos, Las Vegas Raiders, New Orleans Saints, San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks $250,000 each, while the head coach of each team received an additional $100,000 fine for mask noncompliance.
The league began the 2020 season with numerous health and safety protocols in place designed to mitigate the risks from the COVID-19 pandemic. The NFL requires all coaches and staff in the bench area to wear masks during games and recommends players on the sidelines do the same. Individual teams have been left to determine for themselves whether to allow fans inside stadiums.
The league said on Tuesday that there were zero confirmed COVID-19 positives among players for the testing period from Sept. 13-19, while there were five positives among “other personnel.”