NFL celebration penalties, explained: Why league is cracking down on arrow, gun gestures in 2024

David Suggs

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NFL celebration penalties, explained: Why league is cracking down on arrow, gun gestures in 2024 image

If you've been watching NFL games this season, you've likely been greeted with a familiar sight.

After racing into the end zone, your favorite player expresses his ecstasy in style. He takes out his imaginary quiver, pulls the thorniest bolt he can find in his collection and takes aim at some imaginary target.

Moments later, a canary leaps out of the referee's pocket. If that doesn't happen, don't be alarmed: he'll get a fine in the mail in the next few days.

Jerry Glanville once christened American football's top-flight division as the "No Fun League." With an assortment of flags associated with unsportsmanlike penalties on celebrations, he might've been onto something.

With that, here's what you need to know about the NFL's crackdown on arrow, gun and other weapon-like gestures in 2024.

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NFL celebration penalties, explained

In 2017, the NFL announced that it was relaxing its celebration rules, bringing an end to an era defined by unsportsmanlike calls and eye-watering fines for gestures designed to coax fan involvement.

The effect was fairly immediate. The league lifted sanctions on team celebrations, for example. Now, you were liable to see an entire defensive unit pose in front of a camera (or dozens) after securing an interception or fumble recovery. Players were even permitted to use the ball as a prop — an action once deemed heretical by league officials.

A universe of dances, skits and choreography emerged following the NFL's decision. The league bolstered some penalties, though, particularly those related to "violent and offensive imagery."

The league's red line revolved around portraying violence, be that through mimicking gunfire or masquerading as an archer.

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Those guidelines have persisted in the eight years since the league's rule changes were announced, and Andrei Iosivas and Allen Lazard are among the two most prominent players to be penalized for "violent" celebrations this season.

Iosivas received a fine after mocking Travis Kelce's bow-and-arrow move when the Bengals faced the Chiefs in Kansas City.

Lazard, meanwhile, was penalized after a finger gun celebration against the Broncos.

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Kelce had his say on the NFL's insistence on surveilling players' post-touchdown antics in a recent episode of the "New Heights" podcast he co-hosts with his older brother, Jason.

“I just think it’s too much, man. It’s too much and it’s affecting the game in the wrong way,” Kelce said. “I get the guy’s got to play by the rules and stuff like that. I don’t want to get the NFL on my ass for saying something. But I just think this is too far.”

Kelce might not be alone in that thought, but the league has taken aim at making certain gestures a thing of the past.

David Suggs

David Suggs Photo

David Suggs is a content producer at The Sporting News. A long-suffering Everton, Wizards and Commanders fan, he has learned to get used to losing over the years. In his free time, he enjoys skateboarding (poorly), listening to the likes of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and D’Angelo, and penning short journal entries.