When Sports Stars Were Caught Cutting Corners: The 10 Highest Fines in Sporting History

Some of these team/owners have been repeat offenders

PUBLISHED SEP 13, 2023

Mark Cuban, Bill Belichick, Mike Tyson | Getty Images

When teams and players had to shell out hefty fines

Marquese Chriss of the Dallas Mavericks blocks a shot from Kelly Oubre | Getty Images | Photo by Jacob Kupferman

In the hyper-competitive arena of professional sports, teams as well as players often tend to go too far to win. Thus, to maintain a level playing field, each major sport has its own governing body that intervenes and hands out penalties and suspensions as consequences for those who bend or break the rules. Recently, the NBA side Dallas Mavericks were handed a massive fine of $750,000 as they violated the league’s resting policy by sitting healthy players as per the NBA’s website. Amidst the buzz created by the penalty, here are the ten biggest monetary fines handed out in the history of all sports.

1. Carl Long (NASCAR): $200,000

Carl Long at the grid of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bojangles' Southern 500 | Getty Images| Photo by Sarah Crabill

In 2009, NASCAR driver Carl Long and his crew chief, Charles Swing were handed a fine of $200,000 for attempting to increase the size of their car's engine cylinders for an unfair advantage in the race. Long was also suspended for 12 races and docked 200 points. While his team’s chief, Swing was suspended for the majority of the racing season that year, as per Bleacher Report.

2. Mark Cuban (NBA): $600,000

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban during a a game | Getty Images | Photo by Tim Heitman

Dallas Mavericks have also landed in trouble before, when the team owner Mark Cuban was fined $600,000 because of a statement he made on a podcast in 2018, as per Bleacher Report. Cuban had allegedly said that “losing is our best option” and later admitted that the Mavericks had been performing poorly for more than a year, so losing worked out for the Dallas team at the time. Despite Cuban’s hefty fine, the team went on to acquire basketball star Luka Doncic on draft, just months after the setback.

3. Bill Belichick And The New England Patriots (NFL): Combined Fine Of $750,000

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick during a game | Getty Images | Photo by Jim Rogash

The New England Patriots were involved in a Spygate scandal in which the team was caught taping opposing teams' defensive signals and using them to their advantage. The scandal came to light after a camera was confiscated from Patriots video assistant Matt Estrella during a game as per the Seattle Times. The head coach of the team Bill Belichick was held accountable for this tactic and fined $500,000, while the Patriots as a team were ordered to pay a fine of $250,000. Further, the team faced a forfeiture in the first-round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft.

4. Dallas Mavericks (NBA): $750,000

Luka Doncic of Dallas Mavericks along side team owner Mark Cuban | Getty Images | Photo by Ron Jenkins

No stranger to controversy, the Dallas Mavericks have ended up on the list once again with a second mention for Mark Cuban. The Mavericks were fined in April for violating the resting policy of the NBA. It was found that the team benched several healthy players over their final two games of the season, despite having a chance at making the play-in tournament. As the team lost those games, it still allowed them to remain at the number 10 spot which is important as their pick is now top-10 protected as per CNN.

5. Donald Sterling (NBA): $2.5 million

Former Los Angeles Clipppers owner Donald Sterling during a game | Getty Images | Photo by Kirby Lee

Donald Sterling, the former owner of the Los Angeles Clippers team was fined a whopping $2.5 million and banned from the NBA for life in 2014 after an investigation was launched regarding racist comments he made over a phone call with his ex-girlfriend. Sterling faced the maximum fine allowed under the league’s constitution at the time, and he later sold the Clippers to Steve Ballmer for $2 billion, which made paying the fine easier for him, as per Bleacher Report.

6. New Jersey Devils (NHL): $3 Million

Scott Stevens of the New Jersey Devils carries the Stanley Cup Trophy | Getty Images | Photo by J Giamundo

NHL team, the New Jersey Devils were once slapped with a fine for violating the league's regulations when they traded for superstar forward Ilya Kovalchuk to help the team get to the Stanley Cup. By doing so they breached the policy regarding the number of players involved and the draft picks given up to acquire the Russian star. They also attempted to circumvent the salary cap by signing Kovalchuk for a 17-year, $102 million contract. Thus, the NHL fined the team $3 million and they were ordered to forfeit their first and third-round draft picks, as per ESPN.

7. Mike Tyson (Boxing): $3 Million

Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson fight for WBA World Heavyweight Title | Getty Images | Photo by Focus on Sport

The one-punch wonder Mike Tyson was infamous for his in-ring encounters, including with Evander Holyfield, which is one of the most notable moments in sporting history. After two rounds of the boxing match, Tyson shocked viewers by attempting to bite Holyfield and successfully chewed off about a one-inch chunk off of his ear in the process. Tyson received a warning for his first attempt to bite Holyfield and after his second attempt, the fight was called off. Tyson was later fined $3 million for his actions and given a lifetime suspension from boxing, which was later overturned on appeal, as per Essentially Sports.

8. Minnesota Timberwolves (NBA): $3.5 million

Mitchell Robinson of the New York Knicks and Josh Okogie of the Minnesota Timberwolves | Getty Images | Photo by David Berding

In a desperate attempt to clinch Jos Smith, the Minnesota Timberwolves made an under-the-table agreement with the soon-to-be free agent, and were handed the largest fine in the history of the NBA for it. Later the contract was deemed void, and the franchise was stripped of four first-round picks. Additionally, the owner Glen Taylor was suspended for a year and the team had to pay $3.5 million, as per USA Today. Smith was allowed to play the following season for the Detroit Pistons and returned to the Wolves in 2001.

9. Red Bull Racing (Formula One): $7,000,000

Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing Wins the Malaysian Grand Prix | Getty Images | Photo by Peter J Fox

In an attempt to fly high, the Formula 1 team and the current constructors champions, Red Bull Racing were fined by the F1 governing body, for violating the budget cap introduced in 2021. While all teams complied with the spending limit of $140 million, only Red Bull racing breached it with a ‘minor overspend’ of under $2.3 million. The team claimed that the overspending was a result of incorrectly excluding or adjusting costs of catering services, associated employers’ social security contributions and clerical errors. For this, the team was fined $7 million and a 10% reduction in wind tunnel development time for 2023.

10. McLaren Racing Team (Formula One): $100 Million

McLaren Mercedes drivers side by side at the British Formula One Grand Prix | Getty Images | Photo by Vladimir Rys/Bongarts

Among teams hit with the biggest fines in sporting history, McLaren's Formula One Racing team topped the list for a penalty in 2007. The team was fined a whopping $100 million for spying on their largest rival team Scuderia Ferrari. The team also had to forfeit all constructor's points for the season. However, the team’s drivers Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton were not penalized and were allowed to continue competing for the drivers title, as they reportedly provided valuable information to the FIA, as per Planet F1.