The NFL has fined the Dallas Cowboys heavily for their role in several brawls and altercations during their joint practice with the New Orleans Saints.
Bizarrely, the Saints and Cowboys’ joint practice erupted into an undisciplined, furious encounter with multiple fights and ejections, forcing the NFL to take action after requesting film from the practice, according to Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer.
NFL Punishes Cowboys, Saints For Brawls During Joint Practice
According to NFL insider Adam Schefter, the NFL has issued joint fines of $500,000 each to both the Cowboys and Saints.
In his post on social media platform X, Schefter explained the NFL’s reasoning behind the fines: “The competition committee has made sportsmanship – including at joint practices – a point of emphasis over the past several years. All clubs were reminded by memo prior to training camp of their responsibility in preventing unsportsmanlike behavior at joint practices that has the potential to result in injury.”
NFL fined the Cowboys and Saints $500,000 each for what it called “the actions that took place at the joint practice between the teams earlier this week.”
The Competition Committee has made sportsmanship – including at joint practices – a point of emphasis over the past several…
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 20, 2026
The joint practice was a chaotic mess, leaving neither coach happy, from all accounts. Reportedly, according to ESPN, “fights occurred on both fields after the teams split up to work out their offenses and defenses against each other. Punches were thrown on both fields, and play had to be stopped multiple times… one player tossed a helmet in one instance, and in another skirmish, a player was body-slammed to the ground.”
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Furthermore, officials reportedly ejected Cowboys linebacker Donovan Ezeiruaku for throwing punches.
With the NFL making it clear that brawls are unacceptable during joint practices due to the heightened risk of injury, this hefty fine is unsurprising.
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It’s unclear how these individual fights happened, but it raises concerns about a possible lack of discipline within the Cowboys’ and Saints’ camps.
According to Patrik Walker, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones didn’t take too kindly to his players costing him money. He will look to recoup the expenses by fining the individual players deemed responsible for the various altercations.
One would imagine Ezeiruaku will be included, since he was ejected. Nevertheless, Jones will also appeal the league’s fine, although it is seen as unlikely that the NFL will amend it.
This heated practice was not ideal preparation for the Cowboys ahead of their second-week preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday. However, they were impressive in beating the Seattle Seahawks 17-7 in their opening game, and they’ll look to carry that momentum into their game against the Cardinals.
