Teddy Bridgewater didn't play a lot of football in 2025 as Baker Mayfield's backup on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster. He only featured in four NFL games last season, throwing for 62 yards and a 53.3% completion rate.
While his pro football career is nothing to write home about, his offseason activities have been garnering attention. The former Louisville Cardinal coached at his alma mater Miami Northwestern after his first retirement in 2024, leading the Bulldogs to a 12-2 season and a #6 state ranking.
He got suspended from coaching in 2025 due to allegedly breaking rules on spending. However, his actions inspired the state legislature to pass a law that helps high school sports in the state thrive.
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Teddy Bridgewater-Inspired Legislation About to Be Signed Into Law
The Florida Senate recently introduced and passed Senate Bill 178, dubbed the Teddy Bridgewater Act by bill sponsor Senator Shevrin Jones (D-Miami Gardens).
According to a Florida Senate Democrats post, the law aims to allow K-12 head coaches to use up to $15,000 of their personal funds to support student-athlete welfare. This covers the athletes' food, transportation and medical recovery needs.
Jones explained why he pushed for the law to be passed in an interview with CBS News Miami.
"They are sometimes the parents for some of these young people, and sometimes, these are the one individuals or individuals that a lot of these student athletes trust," Jones explained. "They should be able to help those student athletes with things like getting home safely after practice. They should be able to help them with food if they have not eaten. Those are good faith tactics that I believe should be allowed."
Teddy Bridgewater was suspended by the Florida High School Athletic Association for allegedly providing "impermissible benefits" to his players. He also posted a now-deleted Facebook post asking Northwestern fans to help him cover team expenses not paid for by the school, such as a $700 weekly Uber budget and $1,300 per week for athletic recovery services.
Bridgewater will be joining the free agent market in the offseason as his one-year, $1.255-million deal with the Buccaneers expires.