Last Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills was a successful one for New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman. Not only did he catch six passes for 70 yards and a touchdown, his team also won the contest 24-12 and in the process of doing so secured the AFC East title — the tenth in Edelman’s ten-year career. The contest also was a costly one for the veteran, however, as first reported by ESPN Boston’s Mike Reiss.
Edelman was fined by the NFL for three separate fouls — all of which for unnecessary roughness. The 32-year old lost a combined $63,504, with $10,026 coming for signaling a fair catch before blocking Bills special teamer Siran Neal. He also lost $26,739 for each of his two illegal crackback blocks. But even though Edelman was fined three times, he only was flagged once during the game: his special teams block cost the Patriots nine yards.
As a result of the fines, Edelman has now lost 42.6% of his week 16 pay check. According to the Boston Sports Journal’s Miguel Benzan, the wideout makes $148,897 per week — a salary of $117,647 plus a 46-man active roster bonus of $31,250 — and almost half of which was now collected by the league. Over the course of his career, Edelman has now lost $1,116,924 due to fines and suspensions (via Robert Raiola).