Tony Gonzalez confirms he’ll cover Kelce’s record-breaking TD fine
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Tony Gonzalez is a man of his word.
Gonzalez, a Kansas City Chiefs legend who had another one of his franchise records broken Wednesday, confirmed he’ll be helping tight end Travis Kelce pay his fine for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty following his record-breaking touchdown celebration.
The 35-year-old Kelce scored a 12-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter of a 29-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers that helped the Chiefs lock up the AFC’s No. 1 seed in the playoffs on Wednesday. The score from No. 87 was his 77th regular season touchdown reception of his career, suring Gonzalez for the most in Chiefs history.
READ MORE: Chiefs wrap up No. 1 seed in AFC with 29-10 win over Steelers on Christmas
Kelce celebrated the touchdown score by dunking the football through the goalposts, an ode to Gonzalez’s signature celebration, which subsequently resulted in him being flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Gonzalez congratulated Kelce on breaking his record in a post on social media on Wednesday.
“Congrats to my man @tkelce on becoming the all time @Chiefs leader in touchdowns! Keep blazing trails my friend! btw nice dunk!” Gonzalez wrote.
Kelce responded on Twitter jokingly: “You know I had to show love to the greatest of all time!! you did mention you’d help me with the fine tho.”
Gonzalez then confirmed he would pay for the fine, as he said when asked about a potential record-breaking celebration on Black Friday.
READ MORE: Tony Gonzalez volunteers to pay fine for Travis Kelce in exchange for TD tribute celebration
“lol! I got you!” Gonzalez said to Kelce.
According to the NFL rulebook, penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct, which falls under the ‘Sportsmanship’ category of the rulebook, cost players $14,069 for a first offense and $19,697 for a second offense. Wednesday’s penalty for Kelce was the first unsportsmanlike conduct penalty of his season, but not the first of his career.
Kelce isn’t the only Chiefs player who will be getting a fine at his locker this week, though. Rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy was also given an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for his touchdown celebration in the first quarter of Kansas City’s win.
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