Fines Into Freedom
By Jaron Baston, Commissioner, LAW Fund
What if every technical foul, taunting penalty, or uniform violation helped build generational wealth?
THE QUIET TAX ON BLACK EXCELLENCE
Every year, the NFL and NBA quietly collect millions of dollars in fines. We hear about them in headlines — $10K for a celebration, $25K for arguing a call, $50K for wearing custom cleats — but we rarely ask the deeper question:
Where does that money go?
Most athletes don’t even realize they’re being taxed for personality, passion, and protest. These are leagues built on the backs of Black talent — and they’ve institutionalized a culture of fines as just “part of the game.”
In 2023, the NBA issued over $5.4 million in player fines. The NFL, across the 2022 season, reportedly exceeded $10 million.
That’s nearly $16 million in one year. Gone to what? League funds. Administrative accounts. Vague “community impact” initiatives with no direct player oversight.
REVERSE THE FLOW
Now imagine this: Every dollar fined gets redirected into a community-owned insurance vault. A permanent life insurance (PLI) fund, seeded annually with league fines, grows tax-advantaged cash value. That value is then lent out, invested, and circulated.
- Fund scholarships for athletes post-career
- Seed trusts for players’ kids
- Invest in local financial literacy programs
- Protect players’ families with policy-backed coverage
This is not a donation. It’s redemption. The money that was once used to penalize — now used to protect.
THE NUMBERS
Let’s say the NFL fines $12M this year. The NBA adds another $6M. That’s $18 million annually.
If pooled into a Whole Life policy-backed structure:
- Annual return of 4–6% tax-deferred
- 20-year compound growth = $55M+
- $2M/year available for community reinvestment after Year 5
That’s enough to:
- Open 5-10 new financial empowerment centers
- Fund 100+ trust accounts annually for retired players’ children
- Offer low-interest capital to Black-owned business incubators
FROM PUNISHMENT TO POWER
We don’t need fines to go away. We need them to mean something.
Every unsportsmanlike conduct flag could fund the next Black-owned VC firm. Every taunting fine could seed a trust. Every jersey violation could insure a future.
If the leagues won’t do it — we can. Players. Advisors. Funds. Systems.
It’s time to take the dollars extracted from athletes and use them to protect their legacy.
Let the penalty become the policy. Let the fine become the future.
Move Quiet. Move First. Own Forever.
Jaron Baston
