The NFL, which has an official beer sponsor, an official drink sponsor, and allows clubs to sell and serve alcoholic beverages in its stadiums during games, has fined San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk for using a play celebration that imitates him “chugging a beer.”
Let this marinate for a moment.
It gets crazier.
Juszczyk received a letter from the league this week informing him he is being fined $14,926 for celebrating a touchdown by giving the universal symbol of taking a drink.
The league told Juszczyk he violated Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1, when he did an “imitation of chugging a beer” after scoring a touchdown at the 5:46 mark of the third quarter against the Miami Dolphins.
“Your imitation of chugging a beer constituted an offensive demonstration and could reasonably be construed as being in poor taste,” the league’s fine letter to Juszczyk reads in part.
The letter also said, “players are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that reflects positively on the game and is consistent with NFL standards of sportsmanship.”
Further offenses, Juszczyk was warned, would result in an escalation of disciplinary action, up to and including suspension. Juszcyzk is appealing the fine, per a source.
Juszczyk scored his touchdown against the Dolphins, celebrated, and soon afterward the television broadcast cut to a Michelob Ultra beer commercial.
Not.
Making.
This.
Up.
The NFL has an official beer. Anheuser-Busch and its major brand, Bud Light, serve as the official beer and hard seltzer sponsor of the NFL under an agreement running through the 2026-27 season.
And as part of that deal, the beer has promotional agreements with more than two dozen current NFL players. The ads featuring the players are utilized across national content and campaigns.
So, yes, the fine that the NFL is trying to levy is thick with irony.
But there is more because this could be perhaps the craziest NFL story of the year: Juszczyk’s nickname is “Juice.”
When he makes a play for the 49ers at home, the crowd chants, “juuuuuuuuice.”
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So, maybe, the guy wasn’t pretending to chug a beer. Maybe the NFL, awash in beer sponsorships, assumed every time someone drinks, they are imbibing beer.
Juszczyk told ESPN, “I don’t even drink beer,” and added on his social media, “Can’t make this stuff up.”
The NFL also has an official juice agreement through Pepsico with Tropicana.
But the league drink police didn’t assume the guy nicknamed Juice was imitating taking a drink of juice.
