Carolina Panthers chairman David Tepper was fined $300,000 by the NFL after he was caught on camera throwing a drink at Jacksonville Jaguars fans during the waning moments of the Panthers’ 26–0 loss on New Years Eve.
The league announced his six-figure fine on Tuesday as a result of his “unacceptable conduct,” and while it seems a hefty sum on face value, NFL fans deemed that the discipline should have been far less lenient, due to Tepper’s vast fortune.
Carolina’s chairman is reported by Forbes to have a net worth of $20.6 billion, meaning the $300,000 fine is merely a slap on the wrist for the wealthy businessman. And that aspect of the fine wasn’t lost on NFL fans and reporters, who had plenty of jokes about how Tepper would not be losing any sleep over the financial penalty.
It's still $300,000, but to levy a $300,000 fine against someone worth $20.6 billion would be the equivalent of fining someone worth $1 million ... $14.56. It's not even a parking ticket.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) January 2, 2024
David Tepper’s fine for throwing a drink on fans amounts to 0.00146 percent of his net worth. That’ll teach him. https://t.co/uZn2bH1oIP
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) January 3, 2024
For those scoring at home, fining David Tepper $300,000 ( Net worth: $20.6 Billion) is the equivalent of fining the Average American…
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) January 2, 2024
ONE DOLLAR AND 77 CENTS! https://t.co/cfyHzDqnhH
A $300,000 fine for #Panthers Owner David Tepper seems significant, until you remember that Forbes recently valued him at $20,600,000,000.
— Spotrac (@spotrac) January 3, 2024
The fine is well less than 1 percent of David Tepper's $20.6 billion net worth. https://t.co/RxIAdaHUAf
— Joe Person (@josephperson) January 2, 2024
$300K to David Tepper is a spare button in his pants pocket ????
— Keep Purring Podcast (Ben) (@KeepPurringBen) January 3, 2024
What a joke of a fine. pic.twitter.com/JdBIvj7zlg
I’m not going to do the math of what a $300,000 fine for a man of David Tepper’s means equates to what it would be for a non-billionaire. Bud Adams was fined $250K for making an obscene gesture at a fan. Tepper threw something at a fan. Feels worse.
— Judy Battista (@judybattista) January 2, 2024
