At the bottom of this post from the Press-Gazette is an update about the fines handed out from the Lions game:
Daryn Colledge was fined $5,000 for unnecessarily striking an opponent late. Donald Driver was fined $5,000 for an illegal blindside block to the head and neck area. Nick Barnett was fined $7,500 for a facemask. Spencer Havner was fined for a horse-collar tackle.
I don't recall if Havner was flagged for that tackle, but I know the other 3 players all were flagged for a 15 yard penalty. I'm not trying to sound like a union rep. or an agent, but why are they getting penalized twice?
The only good reason I've come up with is that's it's a second reminder of the unnecessary conduct. Maybe every player clearly sees it on his paystub, or has to sign an acknowledgment. But I would expect a clear second reminder is when the player is chewed out by a coach during film review during the week.
This isn't some big revenue source for the NFL either, all the fines are donated to charity.
I don't see how a $7,500 fine is going to stop facemask penalties from happening. It's also not a big blow to most of the NFL millionaires, although Havner's poor by NFL standards. It just seems like a pointless PR exercise by the NFL.
It's also possible that fines make bad actors act out. So says Mark Cuban:
"Getting fined for pulling out a pen, or fake mooning is only going to bring more visibility and marketability to the person who did it," Cuban wrote. "Players know it and that's why they do it. Dennis Rodman was the expert at it. It's not about whether the fine will have a negative financial impact, it's about whether the fine can have a positive impact."