Saints owner personally got Cameron Jordan $50K vindication in NFL investigation

Saints owner Gayle Benson apparently took an uncommon step to make sure defensive end Cameron Jordan had his fine for faking an injury rescinded.

The NFL tried to come for Cameron Jordan and the Saints over an allegedly faked injury against the Buccaneers in December.

Then Saints owner Gayle Benson put her foot down.

According to the NOLA.com, Benson made an unusual move by personally penning a “strongly worded” letter to Roger Goodell in a bid to get the league to rescind fines against Jordan, head coach Dennis Allen and the franchise totaling $500,000.

It worked. Jordan and the Saints won their appeal with the $50,000 fine for the player, $100,000 for his head coach and $350,000 for the franchise dropped.

Cameron Jordan won’t have to pay a fine for allegedly faking an injury

This all stemmed from a game on Dec. 5. New Orleans had a 16-3 lead over Tampa Bay halfway through the fourth quarter. Jordan went down with an apparent ankle injury ahead of a fourth-and-10 play for the Buccaneers. It was an action that the league believed to be on purpose to slow the opposing offense since they had just gained seven yards and could have gone for the fourth.

However, the Saints produced evidence to support the idea that he’d suffered a “mid-foot sprain.” An MRI was performed after the game and Jordan remained in New Orleans to receive treatment at the team facility despite it being a bye week.

In any case, the injury stoppage didn’t result in a Saints win. Even though his offense had to punt on that possession, Tom Brady successfully led the Buccaneers back with a stunning comeback. Brady threw touchdown passes with three minutes remaining and three seconds remaining to win 17-16.

It was the kind of loss that represented a disappointing 2022 season and revealed how much improvement the Saints will need in 2023.

Jordan just completed his 12th season as a pro, all of them with New Orleans. The Saints drafted him with the 24th overall pick in 2011 and he’s delivered seven Pro Bowl appearances since.