Chiefs running back loses more than 80% of his paycheck to hefty Week 14 fine

The NFL handed out several fines on Saturday and one of the biggest ones of the week went to Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco. As a matter of fact, the fine was so big that it’s almost going to be like Pacheco played for free in Week 14. 

The NFL announced that Pacheco has been fined $45,020 for an unnecessary roughness that happened during the Chiefs’ 19-17 win over the Chargers in Week 14. With just over six minutes left to play in the second quarter, Pacheco took a short pass from Patrick Mahomes and proceeded to run into a Chargers defender before being pushed out of bounds. According to the NFL, Pacheco lowered his head on the play, so the league fined him for unnecessary roughness for using his helmet on a play where he wasn’t penalized. 

This is a huge fine for Pacheco and that’s because it will eat up more than 80% of his paycheck for Week 14. 

Pacheco is on his rookie deal and because of that, his base salary is just $985,000 this year. That number is paid out over 18 weeks, which means that Pacheco gets $54,722 per game. With the NFL collecting $45,020, that means that Pacheco will be handing over 82.2% of his paycheck. 

NFL legend J.J. Watt called out the NFL for handing out such a big fine to someone for “playing football.”

Pacheco’s fine was tied with Rachaad White for the biggest one of Week 14. White’s base salary is $1.17 million this year, so the fine ate up a big chunk of his paycheck (69.2%), but from a percentage standpoint, Pacheco lost more.