Former NFL quarterback and Miami Northwestern High School football coach Teddy Bridgewater has been suspended after he helped his players with transportation, meals, and other costs, according to CBS Sports.
Bridgewater's suspension comes after he led Miami Northwestern to a state championship in his first season last year.
"Damn people done caused all this confusion. Got a phone call tonight and it's no real investigation going on," Bridgewater wrote in a now-deleted Facebook post amid his suspension. "I told you I have to be an employee to be investigated. Now the paperwork thing still stands but there was no investigation… We SELF REPORTED.."
In a social media post earlier this month, Bridgewater acknowledged that he had covered transportation, meals, and recovery-related costs for his players during the 2024 season. Bridgewater noted that it cost him $1,300 a week to have recovery trucks come service his players the day before games, $2,200 a week to feed the team a pre-game meal, and $700 a week to transport his players via Uber. In his post, the former NFL quarterback asked supporters to contribute financially for the upcoming football season so expenses wouldn't solely fall on him.
Bridgewater, a Miami Northwestern alumnus, became a high school football standout before his college career at Louisville. He was picked up in the first round of the NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings. The quarterback suffered a major knee injury in 2016, but he later recovered and started for the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos. Bridgewater also had stints with the New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, Miami Dolphins, and Detroit Lions before officially retiring from the NFL in February 2024.
Bridgewater stepped away from the league to begin his coaching career. The football coach appeared to want to help his players with expenses at a school where 75 percent of the student population is economically disadvantaged.
Bridgewater's suspension could pave the way for him to sign with an NFL team for the 2025 season. The 32-year-old briefly unretired and re-signed with the Lions in December 2024 after serving as a backup in Detroit in 2023.
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