On a hot summer Sunday night in the middle of a global pandemic, with the rest of the NFL on about as much of a hiatus as imaginable, Bill Belichick signed Cam Newton to a one-year, no risk, low money, incentive-rich deal.
Of course he did.
A few minutes after it went public, the NFL announced it was punishing New England for illegally filming the Cincinnati Bengals’ sideline during a 2019 game, fining the organization $1.1 million, stripping it of a 2021 third-round draft pick and banning their in-house television crew from shooting games in 2020.