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

Sep 13, 2023

By: Deep Das Barman

When teams and players had to shell out hefty fines

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 con...

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

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 ...

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

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 tha...

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

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 Mat...

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

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 player...

5. Donald Sterling (NBA): $2.5 million

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. Sterli...

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

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 o...

7. Mike Tyson (Boxing): $3 Million

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...

8. Minnesota Timberwolves (NBA): $3.5 million

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 wa...

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

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 R...

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

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 f...