In Week 9 against the Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch drew a penalty and he was ejected for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Packers wide receiver Bo Melton. Then he made it worse by seeming to argue with officials about the ejection, then offering a double-middle finger to the Lambeau Field crowd as he walked off the field.
NFL Senior VP of Officiating Perry Fewell suggested the subsequent unsportsmanlike conduct penalty Branch got on the field was for whatever he may have said to officials when told he was being ejected, and not the double-middle fingers. However, the profane gesture could draw additional discipline.
When fines for Week 9 came out on Saturday, Branch was sure to be on the list. It was just a matter of how big his fine(s) would be.
According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, Branch has been fined a total of $20,256; $10,128 for the helmet-to-helmet hit, and another $10,128 for the double-middle fingers, which have now been immortalized on a t-shirt Lions safety Kerby Joseph distributed to his teammates on Friday.
Brian Branch draws another double fine for Week 9 infractions
The total of $20,256 matches the total fines Branch got for two infractions in Week 3: a helmet-to-helmet hit on Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride and another on-field incident. So there is, even with Branch being a repeat helmet-to-helmet hit offender, some rare consistency in how the fines were determined.
Still, it feels like Branch got off light. There was no fine attached to the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which (again) he seemingly drew for something he said to the officials after finding out he was being ejected. John Maakaron of SI.com noted what the fine could be for a "Verbal or other Non-Physical Offense Against Official."
As expected, even though it was remotely possible, Branch was not given a suspension in relation to the helmet-to-hit in Week 9 (the fourth such offense of his career). So he will be available for Sunday night against the Houston Texans.
Branch's base salary for this year is $1,114,625. At $61,923 per week, he's losing roughly one-third of his game check for the second time this season. But it could have been a lot worse this time.
