Chiefs TE Travis Kelce gets bad but expected news from NFL following Christmas Day game vs. Steelers
The NFL has fined Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce $14,069 for unsportsmanlike conduct (use of a prop) during his touchdown celebration against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day. After catching a 12-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Patrick Mahomes early in the fourth quarter, Kelce dunked the ball on the crossbar of the goalpost. […]
The NFL has fined Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce $14,069 for unsportsmanlike conduct (use of a prop) during his touchdown celebration against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day.
After catching a 12-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Patrick Mahomes early in the fourth quarter, Kelce dunked the ball on the crossbar of the goalpost. It was an homage to Hall of Fame and former Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez, who did just that after scoring most of his career touchdowns.
With that catch, Kelce passed Gonzalez for the most receiving touchdowns in Chiefs franchise history. Knowing his record was about to be broken, Gonzalez vowed to pay the fine if Kelce dunked the ball in his honor. Now that Kelce has obliged, we'll wait and see if Gonzalez keeps his word.
Of course, it was perfectly legal back in Gonzalez's day to dunk the ball (as were a lot of fun things). It was outlawed in 2014, which oddly enough was the year following Gonzalez's retirement. The issue with it on the NFL's part is the concern of the goalpost coming dislodged and potentially requiring repairs.
Kelce has actually been fined for this before when he did it during a Week 8 game against the New York Jets back in 2020. It's probably safe to say he won't bother with it again now that he owns the record, but you never truly know when it comes to the high-spirited Kelce. We'll see if he has any exciting celebrations up his sleeve during the postseason as the Chiefs chase the first Super Bowl three-peat in NFL history.
