Few players in NFL history have been as paradoxical with money as Chad Johnson. Off the field, he was famously frugal, even living inside the Bengals’ facility for two years to save on rent. On the field, though, Johnson treated money like confetti, spending tens of thousands of dollars on league fines just to entertain fans and express himself.
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It is perhaps this very duality that makes Johnson’s recent comments about his most expensive fines so fascinating.
Speaking on the Closed Sunday podcast, the former Bengals star opened up about how being unapologetically himself often cost him dearly… and how, even then, he never planned to change.
“Probably the most [I have been fined] might have been about 50 grand,” Johnson proudly recalled. “I tweeted on the sideline, that was 25. I put on a poncho and sombrero during Spanish Heritage Month, that was 30. The Hall of Fame jacket [that I wore] was 40. Oh, the dollar bill cost me 50 when I tried to bribe the ref,” he added.
Each of the above-mentioned stories is a hilarious chapter in the book of Ocho’s showmanship. For instance, the “dollar bill” fine came in 2009, when Johnson jokingly pretended to bribe a referee with a one-dollar note during a replay review. The league, as expected, didn’t find it funny, fining him $20,000 and calling the act “unprofessional and unbecoming.”
Then there was the sombrero-and-poncho celebration. He was fined $30,000 for honoring Hispanic Heritage Month in his own eccentric way with a full outfit. And of course, the iconic golden Hall of Fame jacket cosplay moment cost him $40,000 but cemented his reputation as football’s ultimate entertainer.
Across his career, Johnson’s antics racked up over $115,000 in fines. But as he revealed on the podcast, his knack for attracting fines had nothing to do with rebellion. It was simply his own style of play.
“I tried to get Goodell to understand, ‘Listen, it ain’t about the money. You can take as much as you want from me. I’m not changing my style of play. This is where I come from, and I’m going to remain the same person while I’m here, no matter how much you pay me.’ I think that’s why we have such a good relationship now,” Ocho concluded.
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That said, while Johnson’s fines piled up on Sundays, his bank account never suffered. Unlike many players who went bankrupt within years of retiring (nearly 78% according to reports), he was financially disciplined, investing smartly and living below his means. For as he once put it, “I don’t come from much… I finally got drafted, and I wasn’t going to waste it.”
It is this blend of restraint and recklessness that defines Chad Johnson for most NFL fans. Because he lived simply, but played loudly, seeing football as art, not business. So when creativity came with a $50,000 price tag, to him, it was just the cost of being himself.
