Florida Signs Teddy Bridgewater Act to Fund Players
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- Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the "Teddy Bridgewater Act" on Friday, letting Florida high school head coaches spend up to $15,000 per team per year of personal funds on player needs including food, transportation, physical therapy, and rehabilitation services.
- The bill passed unanimously through Florida House and Senate committees, with guardrails that the spending applies only to a team's head coach, cannot be used in recruiting, and must be reported in full to a state agency.
- Teddy Bridgewater, the longtime NFL quarterback, coached his alma mater Miami Northwestern High to a 2024 state championship but was suspended for the 2025 season after publicly revealing he personally paid for player meals, ride-shares, and treatments.
- Bridgewater told supporters he spent up to $6,000 some weeks on meals, rides, and field preparation, plus $23,500 on training camp costs and apparel for the powerhouse program.
- DeSantis signed a separate bill the same day allowing school boards to use booster club revenues and voluntary donations to pay coaches up to the compensation of the highest-paid administrator in the district, effective July 1.
- Florida officials cited studies showing Broward County head football coaches average a $3,038 stipend, compared to $100,000-plus in neighboring Georgia.
- Andrew Ramjit, executive director of the Florida Coaches Coalition, called the day "validation for thousands of coaches who spent years feeling ignored, undervalued and pushed to the side within our public schools."
Why it matters: The law flips a rule that punished Bridgewater for mentoring underprivileged players into one that lets any head coach legally do the same, capped at $15,000 per team and reported to the state. Paired with a second bill unlocking booster cash to push coaching pay toward the district's top administrator's salary, Florida is attempting to close a $97,000 gap with neighboring Georgia.
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