[Cooter]

Where a situation arises which is not covered in the Constitution and By-laws, the Commissioner shall have the authority to make such decision, including the imposition of a penalty, as in his judgment shall be in the best interests of the Association. The penalty that may be assessed under the preceding two sentences may include, without limitation, a fine, suspension, and/or the forfeiture or assignment of draft choices. No monetary penalty fixed under this provision shall exceed $2,500,000.

Seems to me that by setting the fine at $2.5M the commissioner is invoking this provision which specifically states that this situation is not covered in the Constitution and By-laws.

Otherwise, the fine would be capped at $1M as stated by the provisions you posted in #31.

[9YearLurker]

Nah—they’re just interpreting it as an additional circumstance—say, the players having threatened a boycott—that gives them the flexibility to up the fine.