Penalties and fines on the rise as NFL finger gun celebrations increase

By now, you’ve seen it. A player makes a big catch or run for a first down or a touchdown. He jumps up, extends an arm, sticks out his index finger and raises his thumb to create an imaginary gun. Generally, the “shots” are fired downfield in the direction of no one in particular. But the flags still have followed for the unsportsmanlike conduct, which is a 15-yard penalty.

The NFL is sending the message that it is done with finger guns following eight penalties and fines on players for such celebrations in the first four weeks of the season. Two more players were flagged for finger gun motions, which the NFL considers a violent gesture, on Sunday. Week 5 fines will be announced Saturday afternoon.

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London drew a flag and a fine in Week 2 for the gesture. In Week 3, New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers drew penalties twice for violent gestures. A pair of $14,069 fines followed. Five players — Dallas Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb, New Orleans Saints defensive backs Marshon Lattimore and Alontae Taylor, New York Jets wideout Allen Lazard and Washington Commanders running back Jeremy McNichols — in Week 4 were punished for the celebration.

The players were fined an average of $12,697.50 for those eight infractions. Cincinnati Bengals wideout Andrei Iosivas also was flagged and fined for unsportsmanlike conduct in Week 2, when he pantomimed shooting a bow and arrow following a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs, but he appealed the $5,305 fine and won.

Indianapolis Colts receiver Josh Downs earned a penalty for pointing downfield in Week 5, as did Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton. Yet Lamb and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster were not penalized for celebrating first-down plays with similar gestures in last week’s games, though that does not preclude eventual fines.

Slayton noted the officiating discrepancy on X.

It’s cool when they do it https://t.co/dOX1kb0Qap

— Darius Slayton (@Young_Slay2) October 8, 2024

The NFL’s rules on unsportsmanlike conduct are as follows:

There shall be no unsportsmanlike conduct. This applies to any act which is contrary to the generally understood principles of sportsmanship. Such acts specifically include, among others: (a) Throwing a punch, or a forearm, or kicking at an opponent, even though no contact is made. (b) Using abusive, threatening, or insulting language or gestures to opponents, teammates, officials, or representatives of the League. (c) Using baiting or taunting acts or words that may engender ill will between teams. (d) Any violent gesture, or an act that is sexually suggestive or offensive.

London said he regretted his celebration, which mimed shooting a machine gun in the air. Three days prior, the Falcons had hosted the football team from Georgia’s Apalachee High School, where two students and two teachers were killed in a shooting on Sept. 4.

It may feel like a sudden crackdown, but NFL and team officials as well as players in NFLPA leadership roles say the league’s distaste for such acts is nothing new. The NFL has a long-running rule that discourages players from making any kind of violent gestures on the field. In addition to finger guns, this includes throat slashing and gang signs. In 2022, the league fined 13 Pittsburgh Steelers players $4,715 to $13,261 for a choreographed machine-gun-like interception celebration. In 2023, Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson and tight end David Njoku were both fined $13,569 for a gun-themed celebration. Those are just two examples from prior seasons.

The NFL and the NFL Players Association collectively bargain an on-field code of conduct for all players. Fines, per the NFL rulebook, “are donated to the Professional Athletes Foundation to support Legends in need and the NFL Foundation to further support the health, safety and wellness of athletes across all levels, including youth football and the communities that support the game.”

Two NFL directors of player development said the penalties and fines weren’t a new initiative or point of emphasis by the league, which has cracked down on taunting in recent seasons. Instead, they said, players have just begun using the finger guns celebration with greater frequency.

One high-ranking league employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he didn’t want to comment on any specific incident, said players are warned every year that such gestures will result in penalties and fines. The league shows a video to players each year instructing them on acceptable and unacceptable forms of celebration. The NFL rulebook, which is given every year to each player, also prohibits any gun-related salutes.

One league official said as such celebrations became popular in high school and college games, the NFL observed a trickle-up effect into its own games.

Among the violent gestures flagged in college football this season: Last week, South Carolina defensive end Dylan Stewart mimicked shooting a machine gun into Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart while the quarterback was still on the ground recovering from Stewart’s sack. In Week 1, on LSU’s first touchdown of the season, wide receiver Kyren Lacy pretended to shoot a gun at USC’s defense.

“We’re starting to see, I hate to say it, but more and more of it,” Steve Shaw, the NCAA’s national coordinator of officials, told The Associated Press earlier this week. “We’re just trying to say that’s not acceptable. Gun violence is not acceptable in our game.”

Multiple NFL staff members keep a pulse on all aspects of the youth game, and the league remains conscientious about its messaging to a younger audience. Because of its players’ celebrity statuses, the NFL is mindful about curbing in-game violent gestures, and hopes the recent penalties and fines quickly force players to make a change.

As a second high-ranking NFL employee said when asked about the matter: “Non-negotiable. Find a different expression to celebrate.”

(Top illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; photos: Getty Images, Michael Owens / Associated Press, Leslie Plaza Johnson / Icon Sportswire)