The 2024-25 NFL season has witnessed a significant rise in the number of fines issued to players. While most players and head coaches have remained silent so far, Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson addressed it by highlighting the larger implication of the penalties. The league’s gradual shift toward becoming a “non-physical” sport worries both Ocho and Unc.
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Looking at total fines up until Week 17, Shannon is worried that the total could reach around 550 to 600 by the time of the Super Bowl 2025.
“Ocho, last year, the league issued a total of 419 fines for the regular season and postseason. Through Week 17 this year, they’ve already issued 484. That’s a 1.17 percent increase,” Shannon said on Nightcap.
Johnson agreed, and then criticized the league’s ongoing efforts to minimize physicality. His argument was that the NFL is diluting the game with regulatory measures, and that it could reduce player mobility and contact on the field.
“The game of football is played in a certain way. There’s certain things you can’t take out of it. You’ve already taken the physicality out of the game. Now you’re trying to take the culture, the style, and the way 80 percent of certain types of players play it,” elaborated Johnson.
In reply, Shannon acknowledged that some penalties are “inevitable” while players try to protect their quarterbacks. And he wanted the players and the team owners to “accept” them. They should operate with the understanding that the penalties would come. The goal should always be to play well and not change things just to avoid fines.
“If I get beat clean, you are not going to hit my quarterback. I’m gonna tackle you. I know they’re gonna throw a flag, but I’m okay with that. Certain penalties, you just have to accept. ‘Hey, good job, son’. That’s how you make sure your quarterback doesn’t get hit,” Shannon concluded.
Shannon and Ocho’s viewpoint possibly resonates with many football fans, who feel that frequent referee calls and excessive fines make the game “boring” and “unattractive”. The hope is that Commissioner Roger Goodell will address the matter with the stakeholders to ensure football’s essence remains intact.
