Cornerback punished for a second infraction of the league’s substance policy.
Seattle Seahawks cornerback Brandon Browner will miss the first four games of the 2014 NFL season and play the next four for free as well, the league announced.
The NFL suspended Browner indefinitely last December after he lost an appeal over a one-year ban for a second violation of the NFL substance-abuse policy, costing him a spot in the Super Bowl as Seattle beat Denver for the NFL crown.
A day after Browner, who becomes a free agent on Tuesday, said he had been reinstated by the league, the NFL announced that his return was conditional upon serving further punishment over the first half of next season.
Browner, who has 117 tackles and 10 interceptions in 35 NFL games, will be eligible to sign with any club next week and allowed to work in pre-season activities.
But full reinstatement will come only after Browner misses four games without pay and also forfeits his cheque from the next four games he does play, in effect costing him half a season’s salary for his repeat drug violation.
Browner, 29, missed the last five games of last season as well but says he understands “now more than ever that being part of the NFL is not a right, but a privilege.”
COMMENTS