Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase blasted the NFL for fining players for celebrations Thursday, revealing that he was docked for a celebration after a touchdown in Sunday's win over the Houston Texans.
"It's literally like a wrestling move," Chase told media, including Mike Petraglia of ESPN. He was referring to "The People's Elbow," made famous by Hollywood star and former WWE wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
"This is where the superstars have to get in with the NFLPA and fight for our money," Chase said when asked what players can do about the league's disciplinary decisions.
#Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase says the NFL fined him this week for doing the "peoples elbow" after his TD on Sunday.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 24, 2026
"This is where the superstars have to get in with NFLPA and fight for our money. I'm getting fined for an elbow. ... It's a wresting move."pic.twitter.com/KWdzPFgxUq
Chase joins San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk and Indianapolis Colts offensive lineman Matt Goncalves as the latest players disciplined by the NFL for celebrations. Juszczyk and Goncalves were each fined for an "offensive demonstration" after pretending to chug a drink, with the NFL stating they were pretending to chug beer. Juszczyk has been performing the same celebration since entering the league - which he says is a reference to his nickname, "Juice" - and tweeted that he was perplexed by the NFL's decision.
"I can't really do much about it. I mean, we can complain. I don't even think we can tweet about it because we get fined for tweeting about it," Chase said.
He added: "We got to have a superstar in the NFLPA to help us along the way."
