The Kansas City Chiefs will wrap up their regular season campaign on Sunday, but it won’t be an important game; at least not to them. The team has already wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the AFC, but the playoff hopes of three different teams rest in the Chiefs’ hands. They play the Denver Broncos, who would clinch the final playoff spot with a win over the Chiefs. A Chiefs win would open the door for the Miami Dolphins or Cincinnati Bengals to make it instead.
The problem for the Dolphins and Bengals? The Chiefs will be resting their top starters. That means no Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Chris Jones and others against the Broncos. Veterans for the Chiefs will now have two full weeks to rest and get their bodies right for the postseason. While they do, the NFL has decided to sour Kelce’s holidays and time off by fining him for something he did in Week 17.
Travis Kelce fined for Tony Gonzalez celebration vs. Steelers
Against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day, Kelce caught a touchdown pass from Mahomes in the fourth quarter. The tight end then celebrated by dunking the ball through the goal posts.
The celebration was an homage to Tony Gonzalez, the legendary tight ed and former Chief who made the celebration famous. It was a nice gesture on Kelce’s part, but it ended up backfiring.
That type of celebration is now illegal in the NFL’s rulebook, forcing a penalty flag at the time and now a fine of $14,069 that Kelce willl have to fork over. Obviously, fans were stunned that a celebration that innocuous isn’t allowed, but the NFL is strict about bizarre things.
It’s not an exorbitant amount of money, so Kelce will probably say it was worth it in the end.