Branding is very important to the NFL. It's fair to a degree, but sometimes the regulations of what players cannot do seems, well, a little overbearing. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith told CSN Bay Area that he was fined $15,000 during the playoffs last year because he wore a San Francisco Giants hat at a postgame press conference.
Apparently, the NFL requires that players must wear approved clothing and accessories for 90 minutes after the game. That rule didn't bode well for 49ers cornerback Tarell Brown, who was fined for wearing red sleeves following San Francisco's win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
So of course, people are going to question, then poke fun at these silly rules.
Alex Smith fined 15K for wearing SFG hat. Glad the NFL has its priorities straight.
— Ann Killion (@annkillion) September 19, 2012
@annkillion Hey, that money could pay for real NFL referees for 2.5 games! Sigh.
— Matthew Greber (@greebs) September 19, 2012
@annkillion The good news is it's 30K for an LAD hat
— Gary Kinghorn (@gkinghorn) September 19, 2012
The good news? Smith's hefty fine was rescinded because former 49ers player Merton Hanks, who works in the league office, did his San Francisco pal a favor and changed the fine to a warning.
Thus far, it appears Brown's sleeves will cost him.