Ex-NFL QB Bridgewater Suspended from HS Coaching for Giving Benefits to Players

Former NFL quarterback Teddy Bridgewater said he has been suspended from coaching his former high school team in Miami because he provided players with financial benefits that he says he’d reported to the school.

The 32-year-old Bridgewater publicized action taken against him by Miami Northwestern High School in a social media post in which he also reaffirmed his desire to continue coaching the team for which he once played.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Bridgewater’s social media post said. “And if it comes down to it, I will volunteer from the bleachers like I used to in 2018 and 2019 when no one had a problem.”

A message left for school administrators on Monday was not returned.

Last fall was Bridgewater’s first season coaching his former school, which he led to a Class 3A state championship before signing with Detroit in late December to serve as a backup for the playoff-bound Lions.

He wound up seeing his only action in the postseason, completing his only pass for 3 yards in a divisional-round loss to Washington.

Bridgewater wrote in an earlier social media post that he paid for rides, meals and treatment for players last season. This year, he solicited donations to help cover those costs.

He said in his more recent post that he reported those payments to the school.

Drafted 32nd overall out of Louisville by Minnesota in 2014, Bridgewater appeared in 79 regular-season NFL games during 10 seasons split between the Vikings, New Orleans, Carolina, Miami, Denver and Detroit.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!