Matthew Judon Wins Appeal For NFL Fine Issued Following Week 1 Penalty

BOSTON (CBS) — Matthew Judon fought the NFL and … Matthew Judon won?

In what is a truly rare instance, the NFL admitted it was wrong in issuing a fine of $10,300 to Judon for a personal foul penalty in Week 1. Judon said after the fine was issued that he did not believe he was guilty of that punishment, so he appealed the fine.

On Wednesday, he won that appeal.

#Patriots LB Matthew Judon successfully appealed his $10,300 fine for unnecessary roughness in Week 1 and the full fine was rescinded, source said. Judon was penalized after a scrum in the #Dolphins bench area. But it won’t end up impacting his wallet.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 3, 2021

On Thursday, when speaking with reporters, Judon was asked about his big win.

“Oh yeah!” Judon said while laughing and rubbing his hands together. “Yeah, man. I guess the good people at the NFL office seen fit that they should give my money back, and I agreed with them. And so I thank them and I thank that they took their time, but they came out with a decision that I like.”

On the play itself,  it was hard to see what — if anything — Judon did to warrant the penalty on the punt return. Judon blocked the long snapper out of bounds but even he wasn’t sure what he did to draw the flag, so he was equally perplexed to learn he was hit with a fine.

But now that it’s settled, Judon is happy with the result.

“That’s just kind of how it is. Football is bang-bang, and when you get to slow it down, you can actually see it,” Judon said. “And you can step back and take a very long two-month look at it. And then they came out with a decision that I like. So, I appreciate you, [NFL vice president of policy and rules administration] Jon Runyan, for going with what I thought you should do. So, thank you.”