NFL fines Payton, Gruden and respective teams for not wearing masks

New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton is seen not wearing a mask during Monday night's game against the Raiders. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

NFL fines Sean Payton, Jon Gruden and respective teams for not wearing masks

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 9/22/20

The NFL clearly isn't messing around about mask mandates for coaches working on the sidelines during games.

One day after three coaches and their teams were hit with fines that totaled more than $1 million, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network confirmed that Sean Payton of the New Orleans Saints and Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden were fined $100,000 each for failing to properly wear face coverings throughout the "Monday Night Football" contest that Vegas won 34-24.

Both clubs were also fined:

The NFL is fining the #Saints and #Raiders $250,000 each and coaches Sean Payton and Jon Gruden $100,000 each for failing to properly wear face coverings in the bench area Monday night, per source.

That brings the total to $1.75 million in total fines for violations in Week 2.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 22, 2020

While NFL personnel undergo daily COVID-19 testing through the regular season per an agreement between the league and NFL Players Association, such tests have produced inconsistent results often referred to as "false positives" and "false negatives." As a result, the league is taking additional steps to prevent any virus outbreaks as players and other staff live at their homes and travel for in-market games.

It's believed the NFL could embrace a bubble format for at least a portion of the playoffs.

The NFL and NFLPA announced earlier Tuesday that zero players and five personnel tested positive for the virus from Sept. 13 through Sept. 19.

More must-reads: