The NFL and NFL Players Association announced Wednesday that players will no longer be fined or penalized for celebrations that imitate drinking a beverage on the field. The clarification of the NFL celebration rules came with an updated list of gestures that remain off limits.
The league also rescinded fines previously issued to San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk and Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson, who were each penalized for miming a drink after touchdowns in Week 2. Both fines were among a batch of 20 celebration-related fines handed out across Weeks 2 and 3, and all 20 have since been appealed, according to Bleacher Report.
The Main Development In NFL Celebration Rules
Under the joint statement from the league and union, individual and team celebrations are described as part of the game that help players connect with fans, according to NBC Sports. Drinking gestures now fall squarely into that permitted category.
Gestures that will still draw a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, a fine, or both include acts depicting violence such as gun or weapon motions and gang-related signs. Gestures simulating smoking or drug use remain prohibited, as do gestures that are sexual in nature. The NFL rulebook also continues to list throat-slashing motions and nose-wipe gestures as unsportsmanlike conduct.
What It Means
The clarification gives players a clearer line between celebrations that are fair game and those that still carry discipline. It also sets up a new process for conduct that falls in a gray area. In those cases, the league will contact the player and offer direction before any discipline, warning that repeated use of the same gesture could still lead to a future fine.
JC Tretter, the NFLPA executive director, said the union backs that approach. “When something falls into a gray area, communication and education should come before punishment,” Tretter said. “We’re glad the league will seek to educate players before immediately defaulting to a fine.”
Context Behind The Change
Tretter said the shift followed an unusual spike in celebration fines this season. Fines for illegal celebrations have ranged from $8,847 to $14,926, and the league had issued 88 total fines by Week 3. Through Week 4, officials had upheld 963 flags, the highest total since at least 1978.
The drinking-gesture clarification follows a similar move ahead of the 2025 season, when the league stopped penalizing bow-and-arrow celebrations. Juszczyk had pushed back on his own fine, calling it hypocritical given the volume of Bud Light sponsorships tied to the NFL.
What’s Next
With all 20 celebration fines from Weeks 2 and 3 under appeal, players and teams will be watching how the league applies the new gray-area process to future gestures. No timeline has been given for resolving the remaining appeals tied to celebrations outside the drinking gesture now cleared by the league and union.
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