After Bears receiver Brandon Marshall scored a touchdown on Sunday against the Packers, a fan at Soldier Field came away with a souvenir. And Marshall got a fine.
Marshall threw the ball into the stands after scoring, which is against NFL rules. And the NFL has confirmed to PFT that the league fined Marshall $5,250 for his action.
The rationale from the league office is that a player throwing the ball into the stands creates the potential for crowd control problems: If fans are jostling for the ball, someone could get hurt.
Players are allowed to hand the ball to fans in the first or second row, but throwing the ball into the stands costs them. And it cost Marshall this week.