Clay Matthews apparently isn’t as dirty a player as some believed.
He’s also $23,250 richer, by virtue.
Matthews told Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com that he’s saved a lot of money on fines, with one rescinded and one cut in half.
Matthews said his Week One launch into 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, which initially cost him a $15,000 fine, was cut in half to $7,500.
He also said he won the appeal of his Week 10 fine for hitting Eagles quarterback Nick Foles, with appeals officer Matt Birk wiping out a $15,750 fine which he had only asked to be reduced.
“It was funny because he said I think you’re underselling yourself as far as my appeal,” Matthews said. “He’s like, ‘I don’t think you hit him with your head at all.’ I thought I hit him legally, so $15,000 was way too much. And he said, ‘Well, I don’t think you really did anything, so we’re going to take that away.’ So that was a good day.”
Those two were the only two fines Matthews has incurred this season, which is good news for players, who too often have misguided beliefs about the way the fine system actually works.