Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson has scored a major off-field victory against the league. Instead of giving in to the NFL’s demands of paying a fine over an alleged alcohol stunt in his Week 2 touchdown celebrations, the Dallas fullback cleared his name by bringing in video evidence directly to league officials.
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According to an ESPN Insider report from Adam Schefter on X, “NFL rescinded the $13,611 fine given to Cowboys TE Jake Ferguson for saying he was ‘shotgunning a beer’. Ferguson told the league it was his Gatorade celebration that he previously had done on multiple occasions in practice, as the team had documented on social media. Fine rescinded.”
The TD celebration came in Week 2 on September 20 when the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Washington Commanders 37-20. Ferguson caught 4 passes for 43 yards and two touchdowns. With 9:55 remaining in the second quarter, he caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott and mimed shotgunning a beverage.
According to reports, the league handed a $13,611 fine to Jake Ferguson under Rule 12, Section 3. The league stated that the “imitation of shotgunning a beer” Sunday vs. Washington “constituted an offensive demonstration and could reasonably be construed as being in poor taste.”
The league’s ruling led to an appeal from Ferguson, who claimed that the league does not understand the celebration. During an interview with 105.3 The Fan, the TE said,
“I’m going to tell you right now, that was a Gatorade. Shotgun to Gatorade. Right. I don’t know what other people thought it could have been because I may have got a letter in the mail. But it was Gatorade.”
Jake Ferguson also proved that he had been doing the celebration with Gatorade during practice. His representatives sent videos of the tight end to the league officials showing that he was using Gatorade bottles during drills. Ultimately, the league rescinded the $13,611 fine on October 7.
Earlier that day, the San Francisco 49ers’ fullback Kyle Juszczyk also had his $14,926 fine rescinded after the league had penalized him for his “beer chugging imitation” against the Miami Dolphins in Week 2.
The TE successfully appealed the $14,926 fine, confirming that he was imitating drinking from a juice box to symbolize his nickname “Juice.”
The NFL also fined Indianapolis Colts guard Matt Goncalves $8,847 against the Kansas City Chiefs for his celebration. Goncalves explained that he was simply pretending to enjoy an ice-cold Coca-Cola after a teammate’s touchdown.
The sudden string of penalties pushed the league’s beverage-related fines in Week 2 to an astonishing $37,384 total.
These fines also caused a major controversy in the league, with former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce calling it “hypocrisy at the highest level” on his New Heights podcast.
Kelce pointed out that the NFL otherwise has beer labeled on everything in the stadium and even shows it during commercial breaks, so it seems weird that the league is punishing players for it.
Bud Light even launched a $37,384 “Celly Jar” fan giveaway matching the exact penalty amounts handed out to the 3 players. Ultimately, the league was forced to reverse over $28,000 in fines for Jake Ferguson and Juszczyk within 24 hours.