Here's why Jameis Winston must be on his best behavior when he wants to stay in the NFL

Thursday, quarterback Buccaneers Jameis Winston accepts his fate and faces a suspension of three games for a violation of personal conduct policy. Winston will not appeal and he appears to be part of a NFL negotiated settlement; One could argue that the league should have vigorously pursued the six games, which is exactly what I did on Pick Six Podcast today.

Winston is excused from the Uber driver for the incident, which occurred in March 2016 but, in particular, he did not admit guilt .

Even with Winston locked up for three games, he's not out of the woods when it's punishment. There are still two different ways to see his punishment aggravated by the league.

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For starters, the league noted in its announcement of the suspension of Winston that the quarterback is required to obtain a clinical evaluation and seek the required treatment from this assessment.

"As part of the discipline, Winston is also required to obtain a clinical evaluation and cooperate fully with any recommended therapeutic intervention program," noted the league in its publication. "Failure to obtain evaluation or to cooperate with the treatment will result in greater discipline."

It is quite possible – even if it is not probable – that Winston sees his suspension increase, if he does not cooperate fully with who he goes for treatment or should he fail to get clinical evaluation.

But there is also a darker chronology for Winston. According to the release of the NFL, another violation of the personal conduct policy could result in the ban on the former NFL's first choice.

"In addition, a future violation of personal conduct policy will result in more substantial discipline, including a potential ban on the NFL," the NFL statement continued.

This is exactly the same warning as in the Ezekiel Elliott case of the last offseason, when the Dallas Cowboys running back was warned by the NFL that he could face a ban from the league if he continued to violate the policy of personal conduct.

It is interesting to note that Elliott remains in this situation. Another violation could still result in a ban – there is no prescription for Elliott or Winston.

And it is fairly widely assumed that Winston has an agreement with the NFL, judged by the suspension of three games instead of all. six games that the league could have given him. The league may not be so friendly if Winston gets out of the line again and that means he's firmly in danger of additional punishment if he fails to put himself together on a personal level.