The Minnesota Vikings safety got a little lighter in his wallet this week after the NFL fined him over $50,000 for drawing an unnecessary roughness penalty last Sunday.
Minnesota Vikings safety Andrew Sendejo has never been one to hold back when it comes letting his presence be known on the field to an opposing player.
During his career with the Vikings, Sendejo has developed a bit of a reputation of delivering some pretty violent hits. Sometimes, these hits have resulted in the Minnesota safety receiving a fine or a suspension from the NFL.
Last season, Sendejo was fined a total of $197,838 and he drew a one-game suspension for two separate incidents. The suspension was due to a hit he delivered to the head of former Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Mike Wallace during the Vikings’ Week 7 matchup with the Ravens.
Minnesota Vikings
This week, Sendejo got a new piece of mail from the league notifying him of his latest fine. Thanks to the Minnesota safety drawing an unnecessary roughness penalty last Sunday against the Green Bay Packers, the NFL has fined him $53,482 according to multiple reports.
Sendejo was flagged for the blow he delivered to Packers receiver Davonte Adams because it was interpreted as a hit on a defenseless receiver. Despite that the Vikings safety was just trying to prevent Adams from making the catch, he apparently should have just hugged the Green Bay receiver to avoid the penalty.
Normally, the fine for Sendejo’s specific infraction is around $26,000. But because of his suspension last season, the Minnesota safety is considered a repeat offender and the league fines players with this reputation even more.
On Wednesday, Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said that game officials actually told Sendejo that his hit on Adams was a legal tackle and that the NFL just wants refs to, “throw the flag.” Apparently it wasn’t legal enough to avoid a fine.
The Minnesota safety can afford this week’s fine ($3.5 million salary in 2018), but now he’s just going to have a little less money to spend during the holidays.