NFL Celebration Rules: What Chase and Higgins Fines Teach Players

Scoring a touchdown is supposed to be the highest moment on an NFL field. But for Cincinnati Bengals receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans turned into a very expensive celebration. The NFL reportedly fined the pair more than $89,000 combined over a touchdown gesture that looked a little too much like a wrestling move. If you play at any level, coach young players, or just want to understand why the league keeps cracking down on touchdown celebrations, there’s a practical way to make sense of this.

What Actually Happened in the Second Quarter

The moment came early. Chase made a contested touchdown catch to put the Bengals up 7-0, and he and Higgins broke out a celebration that Chase later described as a “people’s elbow” — the pro wrestling finisher made famous by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Chase wouldn’t fully commit to naming it, though. He said he couldn’t sit there and call it something when everybody else had already made up their own minds about what it looked like.

Here’s where it gets interesting. According to The Athletic, the league didn’t just fine each player once. Higgins reportedly got fined four times and Chase twice for gestures during that game, which is why the total bill topped $89,000. That’s not a typo. Multiple fines from one celebration suggests the NFL is treating every motion in a choreographed routine as its own separate offense.

For context, Chase finished with seven catches for 75 yards and two touchdowns in the 20-6 win. Higgins added five catches for 95 yards. The stats look great. The bank account? Not so much.

Why the League Draws the Line at Certain Gestures

The NFL rulebook gives officials and the league office broad authority to penalize “unsportsmanlike conduct,” and that includes any gesture deemed offensive, violent, or sexually suggestive. You don’t have to hit anyone. You don’t even have to use a prop. Just making a motion that mimics a body slam, a weapon, or anything the league considers inappropriate can trigger a fine after the game.

That’s the key detail most fans miss: the fine doesn’t always come from the referee on the field. The league office reviews film after every game and can issue fines later in the week. So a celebration that looks harmless in the moment can become expensive by Wednesday.

What’s surprising here is the sheer volume of fines. It’s one thing to get dinged for a single gesture. It’s another to be fined four times in one afternoon. That tells you the league isn’t looking at a celebration as one act — it’s breaking it down frame by frame and treating each questionable motion as a separate violation.

The NFL isn’t anti-fun. Since 2017, group celebrations have been allowed again, and players spike, dance, and leap into the stands all the time without punishment. The problem is when a celebration crosses into something that looks like violence or taunting. A “people’s elbow” is playful in a locker room, but on national television it reads as a simulated attack. Fair or not, that’s the line.

Allowed vs. Risky: What the Rulebook Tolerates

If you’re trying to figure out what’s actually allowed, it helps to separate celebrations into two buckets. Here’s a quick breakdown:

• Generally safe: spiking the ball, flexing, high-fives, choreographed group dances, handshakes, going to the stands, and quick individual poses.
• Risky: any motion that mimes a weapon, throat slash, or violent act; sexually suggestive movements; prolonged routines that delay the game; using props; and anything the league can interpret as taunting an opponent.

The “people’s elbow” falls squarely into the risky category because it simulates a physical attack, even if the intent is comedic. The league office doesn’t care about intent. It cares about how the gesture looks on video and what a parent watching with a kid might see.

That last part matters. The NFL’s broadcast partners and sponsors have a say, too. The league has spent years cleaning up its image, and it will happily fine a star player to protect that. Ja’Marr Chase is one of the best receivers in football, but that didn’t stop the league from handing him multiple fines in one week.

How to Celebrate Without Writing a Check

If you’re a player at any level — high school, college, or pro — the lesson here isn’t “don’t celebrate.” It’s “celebrate smarter.” Here are a few practical steps to keep your touchdown moment joyful and your wallet intact:

• Keep it to one clear motion. A long, multi-part routine gives the reviewer more clips to flag.
• Avoid anything that mimics violence. If it looks like a fight move, a weapon, or an attack, skip it — no matter how funny your teammates think it is.
• Run group celebrations past your coaching staff first. They usually know what the league is watching for and can help you adjust before game day.
• Remember that the league reviews film without context. You might be doing an inside joke with your friends, but the office sees only the gesture and the broadcast angle.
• If you do get fined, consider the appeal process. The NFLPA can help players contest fines, but it’s not a fast process and it rarely wipes out a six-figure bill completely.

Chase’s own comments hint at the larger frustration. Players often don’t know which specific move drew the fine. They create something in the moment, and by the time the league emails the bill, the celebration has been named, labeled, and judged by thousands of people online. That’s a tough spot, but it’s part of the job now.

What This Means for Cincinnati and the League Going Forward

The Bengals have a creative group of receivers, and Chase and Higgins clearly enjoy celebrating together. That’s good for the game. But they now face a choice: tone it down or accept that every choreographed move might come with a price tag. For young players watching, the message is clear — you can have fun after a touchdown, but you better know where the line is before you cross it.

Can you still celebrate without getting fined? Absolutely. But the line isn’t fixed. It shifts depending on what goes viral, what sponsors complain about, and what the league decides looks bad on a Sunday afternoon. That’s the practical reality for every player in the NFL, and Chase and Higgins just paid a lot of money for the reminder.

In the end, the league wants to keep the energy and entertainment in celebrations while controlling the images that reach millions of screens. That balance will keep being tested. The smart players will adapt. The creative ones will push the edges. And the bank accounts? Well, they’ll tell the rest of the story.