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What penalties do NFL players face for missing mandatory minicamp? Trey Hendrickson and T.J. Watt still absent
NFL players are skipping mandatory minicamps in hopes of securing better deals, risking fines outlined in the collective bargaining agreement.
NFL’s last leg before training camps is here and many players still in the hopes of securing a better deal from their respective teams have made the bold move to skip ‘mandatory minicamps’ which started on Tuesday (June 10) for 24 clubs. Although the decision is usually seen as a subtle inclination to pressurize their teams, the move doesn’t come without a price tag attached to it.
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Penalties of missing minicamps
According to the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement, players are subjected to pre-decided fines if they skip out on mandatory minicamps. These prices are routinely increased every year and calculated based on the number of days missed by a player. This is unless a player has received an excused absence from his team.
As of 2025, this is the price chart of fines and penalties:
DAY 1: $17,462
DAY 2: $34,925
DAY 3: $52,381
TOTAL: $104,768
Although these prices aren’t bound to burn deep holes in NFL stars’ pockets, missing minicamps has more to do with the statement they make rather than the money they bring in.
Which players have skipped minicamps this year?
Many players still in the hopes of negotiating better deals with their teams have taken the bold move to skip out this year’s minicamps in the hopes of bringing the other side to the negotiation table. Trey Hendrickson’s feud with the Cincinnati Bengals is now a well-known public affair which became all the more clear when Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport claimed in a social media post that lack of progress in a new deal led to his absence.
Drama seems to be akin to the Pittsburgh Steelers. After leaving the Aaron Rodgers saga in the lurches, Steel City now finds themselves in a new fix as TJ Watt decided to skip organized team activities due to the lack of a new long-term deal. Terry McLaurin, one of the Washington Commanders’ more promising players, is reportedly frustrated with the lack of progress on a new long-term deal in light of this year’s Super Bowl run and has stated that as his official reason for absence.
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The Miami Dolphins have been hit hard this time as two of their players- Jonnu Smith and Jalen Ramsey- have been benched this minicamp season. The agreement comes over the possibility of Ramsey being traded to the Steelers on a trade and Ramsey being cornered out of the Dolphins despite having four years left on his contract. It remains unclear whether Ramsey will be released if the team fails to trade him successfully but the chances of him competing for Miami come September are relatively slim.
Once the minicamps conclude, training camps and preseason games will soon kick off before the start of the regular season in September.
