Cody Wallace is the latest spare part to be worked into the Steelers' offensive line, and he got himself in some trouble this week for a few dirty hits against the Dolphins. The two fines totaled $17,875. Cody Wallace makes $630,000 per year on his current contract, which breaks down to $12,115.38 per week (or $24,230.76 in a two-week pay period, which I think the NFL uses).
No reason to dispute the fine, but it makes me think. When Ryan Clark gets fined $10k for a hit, it means a whole lot less to him than it would to someone whose paycheck is only a little bit more than that. It fines are meant to deter dangerous behavior, why not calculate them as a percentage of salary?
Meanwhile, Brandon Marshall was fined more for wearing orange shoes than Wallace was for either incident he was involved in, because y'know, safety and integrity and stuff.