Florida coaches will now be allowed to spend their own money to support K-12 student-athletes after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 178 into law Friday morning.
The law, also known as the “Teddy Bridgewater Act,” allows Florida public school head coaches to spend up to $15,000 of their own funds to support student-athlete welfare, as long as they have the consent of parents.
The law is named for the quarterback Bridgewater, who signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Lions earlier this offseason. Bridgewater, the No. 32 pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, started his high school coaching career in 2024 at his alma mater, Miami Northwestern in South Florida. In his first season as head coach, Miami Northwestern won the 3A Florida High School Athletic Association state championship. Before Bridgewater could begin his second season at the helm, however, he was suspended after he admitted spending his own money to cover food and transportation costs for players. He also turned to social media to ask for donations from fans.
“I think everyone knows that I’m a cheerful guy, a cheerful giver, as well,” Bridgewater said last year. “And I’m a protector. I’m a father first, before anything. When I decided to coach, those players became my sons. I wanted to make sure that I just protect them in the best way that I can. I think that’s what came about.
“Miami Northwestern is in a tough neighborhood and sometimes things can happen when kids are walking home and different things like that, so I just tried to protect them, give them a ride home instead of them having to take those dangerous walks.”
The new law allows head coaches to spend up to $15,000 to provide student-athletes with food, transportation and recovery services. The bill applies to coaches for public schools in grades K-12 and requires the coaches to report their spending to the association. The bill, which was originally filed Oct. 14, 2025, will go into effect July 1.
“I can’t change who I am because of the rules,” Bridgewater said last year. “I have a big heart. I get it from my mom. I always said that I was once those kids. I know what it’s like to be in their shoes. I know what it’s like to walk those halls at Miami Northwestern and to have your stomach growling and rumbling at 12 o’clock in the afternoon because you didn’t have any lunch money or you don’t get the free lunch.”
Bridgewater starred at Miami Northwestern, taking over the starting quarterback job as a sophomore. He was a four-star recruit and ended up committing to the University of Louisville. After Bridgewater played three years at Louisville, the Minnesota Vikings selected him with the final pick of the first round in 2014. After going 6-6 as a rookie and then 11-5 in his second NFL season in 2015, Bridgewater suffered a devastating non-contact injury before the start of the 2016 season. Bridgewater suffered a torn ACL, among other structural damages. He missed the 2016 season and returned to the field for only one appearance in 2017.
Since the end of his Vikings tenure in 2017, Bridgewater bounced around the NFL, mostly as a backup. He’s signed with seven teams, including two stints with the Lions. Aside from 15 starts for the Carolina Panthers in 2020 and 14 starts for the Denver Broncos in 2021, in which he went a combined 11-18, Bridgewater has never started more than five games in a season since suffering the injury in 2016. The upcoming season will be Bridgewater’s 12th in the NFL.