These days, touchdown celebrations are commonplace in the NFL. However, back when Chad Johnson was tearing up the league, that wasn’t the case. The NFL had strict policies on scoring or turnover festivities throughout the 2000s and until the mid-2010s. The former wideout didn’t let those rules prevent him from putting on a show, though. And the NFL was there when Johnson stepped over the celebratory boundaries, with Roger Goodell fining him regularly for his antics.
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On the latest episode of the They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce podcast, Johnson discussed how his relationship with Goodell has changed over the years. With the NFL Commissioner, Kelce, and longtime teammate Andrew Whitworth on set, Ocho revealed he had a nickname for Goodell back then.
“He took all my money… I started calling him dad because he was taking so much at a time. [And] I never stopped. Because I don’t think he understood during that time I’m having fun and playing the game the way I felt it should be played… we have the best relationship now… it’s like the bad kid seeing the principal years after graduating,” said Johnson.
Johnson did get tired of seeing money yanked from his weekly checks. But that didn’t stop him from celebrating. Instead, he began paying his fines before they were assessed.
“By the time I got to year six or seven… I was getting fined so much, I started sending the money in a week in advance. I already knew I was gonna do something, they knew I was gonna do something. So you don’t have to take it out of my check, here you go ahead of time,” revealed Chad.
Chad Johnson reveals he played a part in NFL’s looser celebration rules, says Roger Goodell asked him for advice https://t.co/yPWnmpXEWu pic.twitter.com/S0c2ya1yIi
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 26, 2017
When the NFL was planning to tweak its rules on “excessive celebrations” in 2017, Goodell sought Johnson’s advice. While the Commissioner admitted public perception led to the alteration of the legislation, he knew it was important to have players’ perspectives too. And in his mind, there was no better person to collaborate with than Johnson.
“He wanted to make the game more fun… fans wanted it. We had that ‘No Fun League’ stuff… let them have a good time. And it sort of took a while to get that through, cause everyone wants to be the ‘pure football’… I think it’s fantastic to let guys express who they are and how much they love the game,” said Goodell.
After Goodell’s admission, Johnson asked if it was “possible” for him to get his money back. As they all laughed, the Commissioner told him his money “has been spent” already.
Ocho’s sacrifice, though, paved the way for the outstanding individual and team shenanigans we see today. And that’s something players and fans alike would be thankful for.
