Former Green Bay Packers pass rusher Za’Darius Smith left last week’s Detroit Lions win with a little less change in his pocket than he expected. The NFL announced Sunday that Smith was fined nearly $7,000 for hitting Packers quarterback Jordan Love with the head, a play that was reported by the team running the play .

I’m sure Smith would be the first to tell you that he would trade $7,000 for an unclaimed 15-yard automatic first down any day of the week. The piece is linked below:

Lions guard Christian Mahogany was fined $4,609 for wearing a face mask in the same game. He was the right guard on the play in which he pulled on Packers linebacker Quay Walker’s face mask.

Personally, I hate that the NFL goes after players’ pockets instead of calling the plays right the first time. The fact that Smith was fined does nothing for the Packers today and only punishes individuals – not teams.

Prior to 2023, the record for most league-wide fines in a single season was 238 in 2016. However, since 2023, fine numbers have exploded. As of Week 11, the NFL has already recorded 283 fines for the 2024 season alone – and there are still six weeks left in the regular season.

The subjective nature of these fines is also a hot topic. Last month, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was fined $14,069 for a “violent gesture” that was ultimately just him pointing in a way that the league called a finger gun interpreted. That’s more than double the penalty Smith received for an uncalled personal foul.

These on-field fines benefit the Professional Athletes Foundation, which is a way for the league to find funding for youth football programs. The vast majority of fines fall on the defensive side of the ball, meaning those players end up footing the bulk of the bill.