Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase are "back in the lab," thinking of a new touchdown celebration after the NFL fined them for their new "People's Elbow" celebration.
Higgins confirmed that the NFL fined him and Chase during an appearance on the Up & Adams Show, adding that the celebration is "pretty much" dead. He also confirmed that the forward-elbow motioning celebration was only a wrestling move inspired by The Rock during an appearance on the Up & Adams Show.
He later explained that people online suggested the celebration could mean something else.
"I'm a fan of WWE, the people's elbow and we just threw in a first down celebration with it," Higgins explained. "Unfortunately, we did get the letter. Everybody on the internet is making it seem like
something that it isn't."
@upandadamsshow NFL fined Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins for their new highly-discussed celebration. 😬💰🚫‼️ #nflfootball #cincinnatibengals #jamarrchase #teehiggins
♬ original sound - Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams
Tee Higgins, Ja'Marr Chase fined over touchdown celebration
The NFL deemed the celebratory gestures Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins paired with their biggest catches against the Houston Texans to be worthy of disciplinary fines.
When asked if the league had been in contact with Chase this past week during a Sept. 24 news conference, the star wide receiver said he was fined for the gestures (an unfurling extension of his right arm).
According to The Athletic, Chas and Higgins were fined a combined $89,556 for repeated uses of the gesture. This marks the first time since his rookie year and the second time in Higgins' NFL career that he's been fined.
Higgins was first penalized during a contest against the Steelers in Pittsburgh on Nov. 15, 2020, when he was fined $9,291 for dunking a ball over the goalpost.
This time, though, the NFL fined him four separate times from the team's Week 2 victory over the Texans (one for each time he used the gesture). Each fine is $14,926, so Higgins must now pay $59,704 total. Chase received two separate fines totaling $29,852.
What does Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase's celebration mean?
Chase and Higgins had referred to the celebration as "the people's elbow," and Chase demonstrated it during his news conference at Paycor Stadium, calling it "an elbow and doing a first-down (gesture)." Later, he likened it to a wrestling move popularized by former pro wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Chase also demonstrated it on his podcast with Annie Agar.
Chase said he would love to appeal the fine, saying, "Bro, at the end of the day, I can't say what something we made up, and then everybody else saying what it is. I can't sit there and say that."
"Everybody gonna have their opinion on what it looks like, what it is. They had many people talking about what it looked like, what it is, but I can't really sit here and say, 'that's what it is.' You know? Obviously, that's not what it is, but it is what it is."
Chase also expressed he'd like to see more straightforward guidelines from the NFL on how players can celebrate.
"I think this is where the superstars have to get in with the NFLPA and fight for our money," Chase said. "I can't really do much about it. We could complain. I don't even think we can tweet about it because we get fined for tweeting about it. So, it's really like players have to keep their mouths shut and deal with it. But we got to have a superstar in the NFLPA to do something about it. Help us along the way."
The Enquirer's Pat Brennan contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase thinking up new touchdown celebration
