Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce knew that he was going to get hit with some sort of punishment after celebrating the way he did in their Christmas Day Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Kelce scored the 77th receiving touchdown of his career on Dec. 25 against the Steelers, which allowed him to surpass the great Tony Gonzalez for the most receiving touchdowns in Chiefs franchise history.
The All-Pro tight end just had to mark his iconic feat in a special way, and he did so by honoring the Chiefs icon. After scoring the historic touchdown, Kelce went up and dunked the football on the crossbar, ala Tony Gonzalez.
The NFL fined #Chiefs TE Travis Kelce $14,069 for unsportsmanlike conduct (use of prop) — dunking over the crossbar on Christmas in tribute to Tony Gonzalez after breaking his franchise TD record.
Gonzalez posted he’ll help with the fine.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 4, 2025
As the above tweet from the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero indicated, the league eventually decided to fine Kelce $14,069 for his celebration. It was deemed unsportsmanlike conduct after the Chiefs star used the crossbar as a prop.
Kelce spoke about the incident during Tuesday’s episode of his “New Heights” podcast with his brother Jason Kelce. According to the 10-time Pro Bowler, he was “of course” punished by the NFL for his antics. He added, “They said since I touched the goal post it was a fine.”
He then acknowledged that his dunk did not exactly go according to plan. Kelce admitted that it wasn’t his best moment.
“I was trying to get my (expletive) old ass up there, man,” Kelce said. “Fourth quarter of the game, my (expletive) legs are tired after a 10-play drive. … I’m just like, ‘Screw it, I’m gonna send it one time for old time’s sake.'”
“… That was me slapping the backboard. That wasn’t me actually flushing it.”
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In November, just before Kelce tied his franchise record for the Chiefs, Gonzalez said that he would gladly pay Kelce’s fine if he dunked the ball. Kelce responded to Gonzalez’ offer by saying that while he appreciates the gesture, there is no need for the same.
“Tony, you don’t have to do that, dude,” Kelce said on the podcast. “It was so cool to hear you even say it, dude, but you don’t have to help me pay that fine.”
