Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Travis Kelce honored Tony Gonzalez in his Week 8 celebration, but was fined for it
Kelce dunked on the goalposts in the Chiefs Week 8 win over the New York Jets, paying homage to the classic celebration from Gonzalez. Frankly, most fans didn’t think much of it, but the NFL was watching and opted the celly was over the line, despite the fact it’s been done dozens of times before.
As it turns out, the NFL outlawed this specific celebration after Jimmy Graham literally bent the goalpost on his attempt in 2013.
Oops, indeed. Graham’s actions played spoiler to any future players who wanted to see if they could dunk.
Gonzalez reached out to Kelce over celebration
Gonzalez is a Chiefs legend, and he knows a thing or two about playing in an era with NFL execs cracking down on touchdown celebrations. It’s a bizarre stance to take for a league so hellbent on marketing its players and making money for the 32 NFL team owners. More flare only helps that cause, yet here we are discussing Kelce’s $10,000+ fine for dunking on a goalpost. It’s mind-boggling.
The Chiefs have been blessed with great tight ends of late, going from Gonzalez to Kelce in under a decade. Most teams wouldn’t consider themselves as lucky, and the two remain close off of the field as well.
The NFL can continue to step in if they want, but they’re only getting in the way of their own goal. A vanilla league means less money in the wallets of owners, players and executives, and it’s a bizarre hill to die on.