Last week the Detroit Lions went to Green Bay and beat the Packers in the rain, but not everyone got to participate in the whole game. Safety Brian Branch got ejected by the league offices in New York after this hit.
There was some very small thought that Branch could be suspended by the league, but that clearly did not happen. There was big thought that Branch could be getting the biggest fine of his NFL career though and that did happen. The NFL hit Branch with two fines. One $10,128 fine for the helmet to helmet hit and then one $10,128 fine for the unsportsmanlike conduct.
In some ways Branch got off a bit easy here. This wasn’t Branch’s first fine for this very penalty. He was fined for a helmet to helmet hit twice in 2023 and then once earlier this season. Usually the more the fines, the higher they go up. That didn’t happen this time. But he does now have to pay for two fines.