Playing in the NFL can bring a player millions of dollars, but it can also take a lot of time from players being with their family during special moments.
For that reason, Eric Waddle had to make a business decision.
The then-San Diego Chargers star safety decided to completely skip out on a halftime speech for the team because he wanted to watch his daughter partake in a halftime performance during Week 15’s game against the Miami Dolphins.
Because of his decision, he would be fined $10,000.
The Chargers released a statement from former head coach Mike McCoy at the time on why Weddle received the fine:
“Yes we did. We have a policy here, and a situation took place two weeks ago at our stadium. So yes, we did fine him. It’s an organizational call. We have a club policy here, and there are certain things we have to do at halftime to make adjustments, and things like that. That’s why we did that.”
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Weddle was already in bad standing with the team after he had a brief holdout before the year because he “felt disrespected by the way the organization [was] handling [contract extension] negotiations.”
Weddle retired after the 2019 season, believing his shot at that elusive Super Bowl title was out the window after 13 seasons coming up short. Weddle came out of retirement to help the Rams during their Super Bowl run.
He would end up tearing his pec and re-retired for good.
Weddle was a second-round pick of the then-San Diego Chargers in 2007 and spent eight seasons with the franchise before spending three years with the Baltimore Ravens. He then joined the Rams for the 2019 season before his initial retirement.
Weddle made it to six Pro Bowls and was named to the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team.
