Bucs Were NFL’s Top Unsportsmanlike Team In 2022

The Bucs were considered the most unsportsmanlike team in the NFL in 2022, according to research conducted by Gambling.com. Tampa Bay led the league with five unsportsmanlike conduct fines last year, the most in the NFL, accumulating fines totaling $111,128.

And Bucs Pro Bowl center Ryan Jensen, one of the league’s notable hot-heads, didn’t even play last year due to a season-ending knee injury he suffered in training camp.

Jensen has racked up a team-high six unnecessary roughness penalties since joining the Bucs in 2018, in addition to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and a taunting infraction. That has contributed to the Bucs being the sixth-most unsportsmanlike team in the NFL over the past five seasons, according to Gambling.com. Tampa Bay has paid a total of $161,622 in fines for unsportsmanlike conduct, which is the third-highest amount over that span.

Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans was flagged with unsportsmanlike conduct and ejected for his role in a brawl with Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore in Week 2 last year. But Evans wasn’t fined. Instead, the league suspended Evans without pay for the Week 3 game against Green Bay, which cost him $62,222. Tampa Bay lost that game, 14-12.

The Bucs Aren’t The Most Unsportsmanlike Team Over The Last 5 Years, Though

Bucs C Ryan Jensen – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

While Tampa Bay has been an undisciplined team under the leadership of Bruce Arians and Todd Bowles, the Bucs aren’t the most unsportsmanlike team over the last five years. That distinction belongs to the Denver Broncos.

According to Gambling.com, the Denver Broncos have accumulated the most unsportsmanlike infractions with 12 unsportsmanlike conduct fines over the past five years, making them the most unsportsmanlike team in the NFL. The amount the team has had to pay in total is $154,944, which is the fourth-most in the league.

The second most unsportsmanlike team in the NFL is the Pittsburgh Steelers with 11 unsportsmanlike conduct fines over the past five years. This has cost a total of $145,859 in fines. The majority of this total was contributed by Mason Rudolph back in the 2019 season with his fight with Myles Garrett in the fierce Browns vs Steelers rival game, resulting in Garrett striking Rudolph on the head with his helmet. Not a great example of sportsmanship.

The Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams share the third spot, both getting a total of 10 unsportsmanlike conduct fines over the past five years. The Seahawks were fined $130,543 over the five years, and the Rams fined $128,533. This making them both one of the most unsportsmanlike teams in the NFL over the past five years.

When it comes to which team has been fined the most, there is a clear winner. The Cleveland Browns have a total of a staggering $1,256,134.75 worth of fines in just five years. They only rank fifth on the list for the number of infringements for unsportsmanlike conduct. Yet defensive end Myles Garrett is the main contributor to this number, after his fight with Steelers backup QB Mason Rudolph in 2019. After this incident, Garrett was fined over $1 million and suspended for the rest of the season.

Methodology Behind The Rankings

The total amount of fines for each team was calculated using Spotrac’s database of fines and suspensions in the NFL. Once calculated, the teams were then ranked from largest to smallest with both, the number of infringements and the amount paid in fines over the last five seasons.

Only unsportsmanlike conduct infractions were considered for this ranking, therefore no fines for PEDs (performance-enhancing drug) or fines for detrimental conduct to the league, for example, were included when creating this ranking.