JJ Watt may be retired from the NFL, but that doesn't mean he has to stop advocating for players getting ripped off by the NFL. Watt was once again vocal about a fine being imposed for seemingly perfectly legal and normal contact made on a block by Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown against the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving.
Here we go again…
General rule of thumb:
If you have to watch the video multiple times to try figuring out which person did something wrong and you still can’t figure it out, we probably shouldn’t be taking $43,709 from someone.This. Is. Stealing. Money.
🤦🏼♂️ https://t.co/zuv45Lzj8t
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) November 26, 2023
NFL issues questionable fine to Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown
If the reasoning for Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown picking up a fine from the NFL is that he lowered his head to make contact, that seems pretty tough to identify from the video posted by Tom Pelissero. This kind of play happens a countless number of times throughout the course of a game and is one of the less violent collisions you'll see. While you can understand the NFL wanting to limit head injuries and keep the players safe, this particular fine seems like a major overstep and something an official would almost never call on the field.
While the fines and suspensions levied by the NFL should help improve the safety of the game, the NFL has to provide a fair balance in order for that to work. JJ Watt is correct in that fining someone the equivalent of what amounts to a yearly salary for a lot of people on a play where the illegal act isn't immediately obvious is awfully tough to swallow.
Watt has been one of the loudest voices on this issue for a while now, and surely players like Amon-Ra St. Brown appreciate him calling out the NFL when they really can't.
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