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Teddy Bridgewater has become something of a martyr in Florida.
While coaching at Miami Northwestern High School, the former NFL quarterback admitted to providing players with financial benefits, including Uber rides, meal expenses and physical therapy for the team.
His actions led to his suspension last summer, but they are one step closer to being legal after a bill was signed in the state.
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Miami Northwestern’s Teddy Bridgewater lifts the state trophy after the team’s victory over Raines in the Class 3A championship on Dec. 14, 2024. (Chet Peterman/Special to The Post/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Florida lawmakers on Thursday passed Senate Bill 178, the “Teddy Bridgewater Bill,” which requires “the Florida High School Athletic Association to adopt regulations authorizing a head coach to support the welfare of a student by using personal funds to provide certain effects to the student.”
The bill states that the coach must report the use of funds to the association, “provided that such use of personal funds is presumed not to constitute an impermissible advantage, etc.”
The bill will now go to the Florida House of Representatives.
Speaking to the media last August after signing a one-year contract with Tampa Bay BuccaneersBridgewater explained his thought process behind the events that led to his suspension.
Detroit Lions quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (17) on the sidelines during the fourth quarter at Bank of America Stadium on August 25, 2023. (Bob Donnan/USA TODAY Sports)
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“Honestly, I think everyone knows I’m just a happy guy, a happy giver too. I’m a protector. I’m a father first and foremost,” he began. “When I decided to become a coach, these players became my sons and I wanted to make sure I protected them in the best way possible. I think that’s what happened.”
He asked for donations on social media “so that I no longer have to dip into my personal funds to keep a smile on the faces of these young men and remind them that they matter.”
“Miami Northwestern is in a tough neighborhood, and sometimes things can happen where kids are walking home and different things like that,” Bridgewater said at the time. “So, I just tried to protect them, walk them home instead of having to go on these dangerous walks. I just want people to continue to see me for the person I have been since I came to the NFL, since I came to the University of Louisville – just a humble guy who has a big heart and a cheerful giver.”
Detroit Lions quarterback Teddy Bridgewater leaves the field in 2023. (Junfu Han/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Bridgewater was a former Pro Bowler for 10 years in the NFL and coached the school to a state title.
