Report: Patriots lose 3rd-round pick, fined $1.1M for filming Bengals' sideline

The New England Patriots will be stripped of their 2021 third-round pick and must pay $1.1 million in club fines for filming the Cincinnati Bengals' sideline during a game in December, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.

New England's television production crews won't be allowed to shoot any games during the 2020 season, Reiss adds.

A three-person Patriots crew was spotted filming the Bengals' sideline from the press box during Cincinnati's Week 14 game against the Cleveland Browns, a violation of league rules. The NFL confiscated the footage for the purposes of its investigation.

Videographer David Mondillo, who was reportedly suspended by the Patriots at the time of the league's investigation and subsequently fired, is banned from NFL facilities indefinitely, according to Reiss.

The Patriots admitted to wrongdoing at the time, but they also said the videographers were filming a team series called "Do Your Job" and were unaware of the infraction.

This isn't the first time the NFL has penalized the Patriots for rule violations. The league stripped New England of a first-round pick in 2007 and fined the team $250,000 for illegally recording opponents' signals.

The NFL also suspended quarterback Tom Brady for four games after he used under-inflated footballs in the 2015 AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Patriots were fined $1 million and forfeited their 2016 first-round draft pick and 2017 fourth-round selection following that investigation.

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