Louisville legend’s good intentions backfire with high school coaching suspension

On Monday, former Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater revealed that he has been suspended from his role as Miami Northwestern High School football coach for providing players with impermissible benefits. 

Teddy Bridgewater suspending for providing players with impermissable benfits

Bridgewater revived his NFL playing career twice, joining the Detroit Lions in each of the last two seasons, despite leading Miami Northwestern to the 2024 Florida State Championship in his first year as the program’s head coach. However, after rejoining the Lions last season and not appearing in any games for Detroit, Bridgewater officially retired from the NFL in February at the age of 32 years old. 

Bridgewater stated in the post revealing the suspension, that Miami Northwestern “self reported” the violations. It appears that he could be referring to another social media post which likey led to the suspension. 

In an effort to fundraise for the program, Bridgewater took to social media on July 7 and outlined all the ways in which he was personally funding the football program, including $14,000 for Miami Northwestern’s training camp, $9,500 dollars for “pride sets for the players so they can look like a team,” $1,300 a week for recovery trucks, and $2,200 a week for pre-game meals, among other expenses that Bridgewater claimed to be paying out of his own pocket. 

He ended the post: "So hear me out, THIS ISNT A CRY OUT FOR HELP but more so a coach seeking donations. I will post the fundraising packages I put together later today and I will provide my foundations Bank Account information later today. If Teddy Bridgewater doesn’t personally approach on behalf of the football team asking for donations - feel free to do what you want."

While that seems very noble for a former NFL quarterback, it understandably led to the suspension for providing impermissible benefits. A wealthy head coach like Bridgewater becomes a massive advantage if they’re able to pay for advanced recovery, nutrition, and training camps personally. 

It’s hard enough for the NCAA to enforce its ever-changing set of rules around impermissible benefits, so one can only imagine that it’s even more difficult to do at the high school level. So, had Bridgewater never revealed what he was paying for in his fundraising effort, he would have almost certainly never been caught. It was an unfortunate misstep rooted in a well-meaning effort to advance the football careers of his players and succeed in his post-playing career.