Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson just scored a win over the NFL, and it didn’t come in the end zone. It came in the shape of a successful appeal.

An appeals officer rescinded the $13,611 fine the NFL handed Ferguson for his celebration in the Cowboys’ Week 2 game against the Washington Commanders. At that moment, Ferguson seemingly pretended to shotgun a beer, which the league described as a “poor taste” celebration.

He wasn’t alone, either. The league controversially fined multiple players across the NFL that week for similar celebrations, including San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk, whose nickname is “Juice.” Juszczyk also had his fine rescinded after his appeal.

Ferguson’s explanation raises an eyebrow

Here’s where it gets fun.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Jake Ferguson’s claim was that he was celebrating by pretending to shotgun a gatorade, not a beer. He claimed that he had previously had done that on multiple occasions in practice, as the team documented on social media.

Ferguson’s version of events fit what he said on 105.3 The Fan a couple of weeks ago.

“Hey, I’m going to tell you right now, that was a Gatorade,” Ferguson said. “Shotgunned a Gatorade. I don’t know what other people thought it could have been, ’cause I may have got a letter in the mail.”

Juszczyk got off the hook in a similar way, claiming he doesn’t even drink beer and is known to celebrate by drinking juice, a nod to his nickname. 

I’m not going to lie to you, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen someone shotgun a Gatorade. So I’m a little skeptical about Ferguson’s explanation. But boy, am I glad he got this win over the NFL. More on that later.

But whether you believe Ferguson or not, it doesn’t really matter now. The appeal worked, and the NFL has to walk back fines it previously handed out for what it called poor-taste celebrations.

It’s also worth clarifying how the process works, because the league didn’t simply change its mind. A hearing officer jointly appointed by the NFL and the NFLPA handles these appeals. That is to say, the NFL doesn’t directly overturn a fine. The appeals officer does.

And in this case, the league lost.

The NFL was on the wrong side of this from the start

The NFL took plenty of criticism for these fines, and for good reason. Fans were quick to point out the obvious: The league is surrounded by beer. It has a long list of beer sponsorships, and its relationship with Bud Light can’t be denied.

So when the NFL started fining players for pretending to drink one, it was widely called hypocritical. Rightfully so. 

For additional context, the NFL makes over a quarter of a billion dollars every year from its beer sponsorships. It promotes beer on game days, both in stadiums and on television broadcasts. Fans in the stands are drinking it. Football and beer have gone hand in hand forever.

The situation even turned into a marketing campaign for Bud Light. The brand ran a celebration-themed promotion, gave away over $37,000, and sent out marketing emails winking at the fact that the NFL had fined multiple players for these celebrations.

Come on, now.

If you ask me, this was a ridiculous stance by the NFL from the start. And I think it’s good the players are winning this battle.

Is the NFL done with this fight?

After facing major backlash for its decision and then losing the appeals, it seems like this is a fight the league is going to drop. The criticism was loud, the optics were bad, and the NFL couldn’t even make the fines stick when players challenged them.

There is one loose end, however.

Cowboys TE Brevyn Spann-Ford was also fined for the same celebration back in Week 2, according to the NFL Accountability portal. There have been no reports on whether his fine will be dropped as well, but given how the Ferguson and Juszczyk appeals played out, I wouldn’t be surprised if it is.

That’s something to keep tabs on.

As for Dallas, Ferguson gets his money back, and the Cowboys can move on from a distraction that never should’ve existed in the first place. This was a bad look for the NFL, and I’m glad it’s over.