COWBOYS GETTING FINED FOR PACMAN SUSPENSION

That sound you hear off in the distance is Jerry Jones’ head exploding. Per Adam Schefter of NFLN, the Cowboys will be fined up to $200,000 for the suspension of Pacman Jones. Specifically, the Cowboys will pay Pacman’s salary -- $20,588 per game -- to the league for each game of his suspension. The penalty applies even if the Cowboys release Jones. Jones’ base salary for 2008 is $700,000. This translates to a rate of $41,176 per game, which means that the fine represents 50 percent of the pay Jones would have received but for the suspension. The fine is the result of a previously unknown (at least by us) rule that became effective on August 1. For the first player suspended on a given team during a given league year, no fine applies. For the second player suspended, a portion of the player’s salary is paid as a fine. The amount of the fine is capped at $200,000 to $500,000 per suspension. The new fine procedure applies to suspensions under the Personal Conduct Policy, the substance-abuse policy, and the policy regarding anabolic steroids and related substances. Because Cowboys receiver Mike Jefferson was suspended four games for violating the steroids policy, Jones’ suspension triggers the new policy. It’s unclear whether this rule supersedes the provision effective as of June 1, which makes teams subject to fines for suspensions arising under the Personal Conduct Policy, presumably without regard to whether it was a team’s first or second suspended player of a given league year.