The NFL came down hard on the New Orleans Saints, fining them and stripping them of a draft pick. The New England Patriots were fined, too. Both franchises were hit for COVID-19 violations.
The Saints were fined $500,000 and docked a seventh-round pick for their maskless locker room celebration following their Week 9 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. New Orleans was also found to have conducted a maskless meeting.
Saints players and the team itself posted celebration videos from their postgame locker room, and it immediately gained the attention of the NFL. Coach Sean Payton, linebacker Demario Davis and quarterback Jameis Winston, who made his season debut in the victory over his former team, were among those seen dancing and celebrating in the video posted to Instagram by receiver Tre’Quan Smith.
Davis and C.J. Gardner-Johnson also posted videos of the postgame dancing and celebrating on social media. The Saints no longer have any videos of the locker room celebration on their official Twitter account.
The New England Patriots were fined $350,000 for protocol violations stemming from issues in October when Cam Newton and others tested positive, forcing the league, among other things, to push back their Week 4 game against the Kansas City Chiefs