Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans will avoid paying a £650,000 fine after being suspended last week, but will still miss Sunday's game against Green Bay Packers, the NFL has announced.
Evans was handed a suspension for his involvement in an ugly brawl that took place on Sunday during Tampa's 20-10 win over the New Orleans Saints, after Tom Brady and Leonard Fournette got into a heated exchange with Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore. Evans floored Lattimore by pushing him over with both hands, which led to a full-blown fistfight.
Both Fournette and Evans were ejected from the game immediately, with the latter being suspended without pay for "violations of unnecessary roughness and unsportsmanlike conduct rules." But following a contract restructure during the off season, he will lose out on just £55,000 rather than the £650,000 fine he would have faced a year ago.
According to ESPN, Evans restructured his contract during the off-season, which saw his base salary to a league-minimum £1m. Therefore, his fine is considerably lower than it would have been if it had occurred during the last campaign.
This is not the first time that Evans' contract has been restructured, as the Bucs continue to make adjustments in house in order to save salary cap space in the short-term. Instead, Evans' base salary has been turned into bonuses that are paid out up front.
Evans signed a £72.5m contract with the Bucs in 2018, with the star set to earn a minimum of £33.5m during his time in Tampa. Evans has become a key part of the Bucs offensive line, although this is not the first time he has been suspended in his career.
Funnily enough, his last suspension in 2017 also came after an altercation with Lattimore, and another one-gam ban was issued. Tampa did appeal his latest ruling after expressing that there were multiple players involved in Sunday's fracas, but the decision was upheld by the NFL.
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Evans seemingly does not regret his actions though, as he proved his loyalty and respect for NFL great Tom Brady. After the game, Evans said: "That's Tom Brady, what do you expect me to do?"
But he wasn't as happy with Fournette, as he labelled his team-mate as 'too emotional' on the field. "Today, he was just too emotional. You don’t throw punches at guys on the field. He threw a punch at Lenny, and I can’t let that happen to my teammates. So I shoved him… turned into a brawl."
Evans will miss a huge clash against the Packers on Sunday, and he could be joined by a large portion of the Bucs roster as injuries continue to mount. Receivers Chris Godwin (hamstring) and Julio Jones (knee), defensive lineman Akiem Hicks (foot) and left tackle Donovan Smith (elbow) all missed practice on Wednesday, and six others saw their involvement limited.
Brady will have to trust his other options against the Packers due to Evans' suspension, but they've won the last two games against Aaron Rodgers' side. Their most recent meeting in 2021 finished 31-26 in the Bucs' favour, with Evans scoring the first touchdown of the game.
