Vontaze Burfict: How Much Has He Been Fined by NFL

Monday morning, the NFL revealed that they would be suspending Oakland Raiders linebacker Vontaze Burfict for the remainder of the 2019 season due to his illegal hit on Indianapolis Colts tight end Jack Doyle. This cuts his tenure with the Silver and Black short after only four games played and will likely result in a hefty fine from the league office. The amount of the latest financial penalty is unknown, but it’s likely that it will bring the career fines to $500,000 or more.

In 2018, ESPN’s Adam Schefter released a breakdown of the fines that Burfict has accrued throughout his career. This was brought about by a $112,000 fine from a battle with the Pittsburgh Steelers in which he illegally hit wide receiver Antonio Brown and running back James Conner. According to Schefter’s breakdown, Burfict had been fined $415,000 over the first seven seasons of his career.

• $112,000 (2018) for unnecessary roughness against the Steelers
• $12,154 (2017) for unnecessary roughness against the Steelers (kicking)
• $12,154 (2016) unsportsmanlike conduct against the Bills
• $75,000 (2016) stepping on Patriots RB LeGarrette Blount
• $50,000 (2015) late hit on Ravens TE Maxx Williams
• $69,454 (2015) unsportsmanlike conduct against the Steelers
• $25,000 (2014) unsportsmanlike conduct against the Panthers
• $21,000 (2013) spearing Jets WR Stephen Hill
• $7,875 (2013) facemask on Bills RB Fred Jackson
• $21,000 (2013) hit on defenseless receiver against Packers
• $10,000 (2013) striking Packers TE Ryan Taylor in the groin

Interestingly enough, the money mentioned by Schefter in the ESPN article is not the only hit that Burfict’s bank account has taken. The suspensions have also caused him to miss out on multiple game checks. During his time with the Cincinnati Bengals, Burfict was suspended 12 total games, eight of which were due to illegal hits. The other four were due to PED use.

With him now missing 12 more games, provided the appeal doesn’t shorten the suspension, Burfict is projected to forfeit $1,163,787 in game checks. This doesn’t include the potential fine from the office that could arrive on Wednesday but does bring his total to more than $5 million.

Considering that Burfict has earned $32,557,742 in his career according to Over The Cap, these fines have taken away a significant percentage of his money. He is not earning $100 million deals like wide receivers or quarterbacks. Instead, Burfict has gone through his career signing smaller deals. In fact, the biggest contract signed by the former Bengals linebacker totaled $33.234 million. Although this was terminated after he had earned just shy of $17 million.

When Burfict joined the Oakland Raiders prior to the 2019 season, he did so by signing a one-year, $2 million deal that included $300,000 in guarantees. He will now be potentially losing the majority of this deal after the latest suspension handed down by the league.