The NFL will be disciplining Marshawn Lynch in one form or another in the near future for his actions Thursday night, which resulted in his ejection.
While Lynch was on the sideline in the second quarter, a fight broke out following a late hit on Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr. Lynch took it upon himself to come onto the field, interject himself into the incident and ended up making contact with an official. He was ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct and for shoving the official, albeit in a very minor way (watch here).
NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart told reporters Friday in a conference call that “all options,” including a suspension, are on the table.
“There’s a schedule for fines for offenses,” said Joe Lockhart, NFL executive vice president of communications, in a conference call (h/t Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal). “There’s physical contact with an official — which is in excess of $30,000 — unsportsmanlike conduct, unnecessarily entering the fight area. Each (has) a schedule of what the fine would be. In some cases, a suspension is in order. All of this is being reviewed now at the league offices. … At this point, we’re considering all options. Once we have a decision, we’ll announce it. No decision’s been made.”
Lynch certainly did not shove the referee with any force. Many feel, given the fact that Lynch was not the person who initiated contact, that he shouldn’t be punished for the way he reacted. Oftentimes, players aren’t even aware it’s an official who is touching them in circumstances such as this one, and Lynch might not have realized he was being restrained by a ref until it was too late.
As noted by Gehlken, however, even if Lynch is not suspended, he’s likely to be fined upwards of $60,000 for physical contact with an official, unnecessarily entering an area of combat and his second unsportsmanlike conduct fine of the season.
If he is suspended, then Lynch would be out more than just that amount, of course. In addition to the pain of being out of a game, he’d lose out on $79,412 in salary and another $31,250 due to the incentive-laden contract he signed, which pays him that amount for every game he plays this year.