The Florida Senate has unanimously passed a bill supporting student-athletes, one that has been dubbed "The Teddy Bridgewater Bill.'"
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Officially known as Senate Bill 178, this act provides authorization for K-12 coaches to use $15,000 in personal funds per year to support student-athlete welfare. They must report this use of personal funds.
"Requiring the Florida High School Athletic Association to adopt bylaws authorizing a head coach to support the welfare of a student by using personal funds to provide certain effects to the student; requiring the head coach to report such use of personal funds to the association; providing that such use of personal funds is presumed not to be an impermissible benefit, etc," the bill states.
This bill passed with a 38-0 vote. It will now move to the House of Representatives. If it passes this second hurdle, it will go to Gov. Ron DeSantis to potentially be signed into law.
This bill is known as The Teddy Bridgewater Bill due to actions the NFL quarterback took while coaching his alma mater, Northwestern (Miami). He admitted to covering food and transportation costs for some players before later seeking sponsors to support these efforts.
Bridgewater said that he had reported these payments to the school. However, he later revealed that the school had suspended him for providing financial support.
"From daily uber rides, to feeding the boys MLK ($1500 a week) every morning following our morning training sessions to feeding the boys catered pasta during the season, to pride sets, to training camp - I cover ALL THE EXPENSES," Bridgewater wrote in a July 2025 post on social media.
"So today I'm putting together my fundraising packages for individuals looking to donate to the program. You will be able to donate to my foundation personally and funds will be used throughout the season as we get ready to crank up."
Bridgewater said that he had paid $14,000 to conduct a four-night training camp for his football team, which also included three hot meals each day and some snacks. He added that he spent $9,500 to purchase pride sets for his players so that they could look like a team.
Other costs mentioned by Bridgewater included $300 per week to paint the field, $1,300 per week for recovery trucks to come work with the players, $2,200 per week for pre-game meals, and $700 for Uber fares.
A first-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, Bridgewater has appeared in 83 games while playing for the Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins, Detroit Lions, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He went 33-32 as a starter but also suffered a major knee injury before his third professional season.
