Derek Carr is paying for his excellent performance on Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys. The leading candidate to win the MVP Award two games into the season has been fined $14,000 by the NFL for his celebration after he found his way to the endzone through a quarterback sneak.
The quarterback impersonated the late great Michael Jackson as he pulled off his trademarked move, the crotch grab. Pro Football Talk reported the news of the league imposing the hefty fine upon Carr. It truly seems to be appropriate that the NFL is being referred to as the ‘No Fun League’ as Derek Carr‘s celebration was not offensive.
But the league never shies away from attempting to play it safe and stay on the good books of its estimated half-a-billion fans worldwide. Fining Derek Carr seemed to be ironic as Michael Jackson performed in Super Bowl XXVII during halftime. The league seemed to be fine with him grabbing his crotch on that day but it is a problem when Carr does it 31 years later.
Derek Carr’s brothers urged him to perform Michael Jackson’s iconic move after scoring a touchdown
The $14,000 fine is the only dent in what is shaping up to be quite the season for the veteran quarterback. Carr has begun to make a resurgence after having faced a rough couple of years on the Las Vegas Raiders and an underwhelming first season with the Saints.
The Saints team this year is looking like a serious contender two weeks in. While it is too early to say with certainty, the team is firing on all cylinders with the offense and defense performing well consistently. Sunday night’s performance against the Dallas Cowboys was a statement win for the Saints.
They did not just beat the Cowboys but broke them. Despite the hefty fine, Carr is probably glad he still did the celebration. He is not going to forget this game for a long time and when he does reminisce about it, the fine is the last thing that he would remember. It is worth noting that it was his brothers who had encouraged him to hit the celebration upon scoring a touchdown.
Derek Carr has had a clear history concerning fines, the only other time he was compelled to pay up by the league was during the pandemic for conduct detrimental to the league after he was seen with his teammates at an event without a mask on.
