After an incident that led N.F.L quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was suspended from his high school coaching duties, the Florida Senate passed a bill that would make his offense legal. According to Local 10 NewsThe “Teddy Bridgewater Act” allows high school head coaches to use personal funds to provide financial assistance to their players, as long as they report what they spend.
The Florida High School Athletic Association suspended Bridgewater in September for the remainder of the 2025-2026 school year for providing impermissible benefits to athletes. Bridgewater coached Miami Northwestern High School football in 2024 and would lead the team in 2025 before leaving the school to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Northwestern suspended Bridgewater in July after he revealed in a social media post that he spent $700 per week on Uber rides for his players during the 2024 season. He also acknowledged covering transportation, team brand clothing, meals and recovery costs at a combined cost of approximately $27,000. Bridgewater asked for donations to the Northwestern Football program in that post.
If Senate Bill 178 becomes law, Florida coaches would be allowed to make such personal expenses. A similar bill is also currently moving through the Florida House.
“I am protective, and I am a father first,” Bridgewater said last season upon signing with the Buccaneers. And when I decided to start coaching, those players became my sons. And I wanted to make sure I protected them in the best way possible. I think that’s what happened.
“Miami Northwestern is in a tough area and sometimes things can happen when the kids are walking home and things like that. So I was just trying to protect them and give them a ride home instead of having to go on those dangerous walks.”
Bridgewater took the coaching job after announcing his retirement from the NFL in February 2024, and he led Northwestern to a Florida Class 3A state championship in his first and only season at the helm. His team went 12-2 and advanced to the playoffs with relative ease, leading to his selection as Florida Dairy Farmers Coach of the Year.
Bridgewater returned to the NFL after that championship season, signing with the Detroit Lions for the final weeks of the 2024 campaign. During that brief stint, he played in a divisional round game in the 2024 playoffs. Bridgewater also logged four games of action with the Buccaneers in 2025, good for his most since 2022. He attempted just 15 passes in a backup role behind Baker Mayfield.
Although his coaching suspension expires this summer, it is unclear whether Bridgewater plans to return to the sidelines at Northwestern. If he were instead on another NFL roster next season, the former first-round pick would be entering Year 13 in the league.
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