Guess it’s time to pay up.
A person with knowledge of the situation says the NFL fined Cowboys tight ends Dalton Schultz, ($13,261), Jake Ferguson ($4,895), Peyton Hendershot ($3,944) and Sean McKeon ($4,994) for jumping into the Salvation Army bucket and playing Whack-A-Mole as a touchdown celebration during the Cowboys 28-20 win over the Giants.
The celebration came after a touchdown by Hendershot that put Dallas up 27-13. McKeon, Ferguson and Schultz all dived into the kettle and bopped up and down and Hendershot managed to bonk Schultz at the top of his rise.
Well the NFL isn't fun after all. Cowboys' Red Kettle TEs were fined for the Thanksgiving celebration. Person with knowledge of the fines said Peyton Hendershot $3,944, Jake Ferguson $4,895, Sean McKeon $4,994 and Dalton Schultz $13,261 were fined for unsportsmanlike conduct.
— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) December 3, 2022
The fine was expected though. Running back Ezekiel Elliott was fined $13,000 once upon a time for putting Dak Prescott into the kettle, and the tight ends knew that the same fate likely awaited them when they came up with it.
Nevertheless, Prescott gave his stamp of approval, promising to have their back if the fine did come their way.
“We said to just make sure we’re up two touchdowns when you do it and that we have some guys who can help with the fines,” Prescott said.
Elliott has had multiple creative kettle celebrations over the years, but he admitted that the Whack-a-Mole topped any of his previous ideas.
“They topped my kettle celebrations. I’m a little jealous, but we’ve got a great tight end room,” Elliott said.
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