New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis was hit with an unexpected fine on Saturday, learning that the NFL dinged him for violating the league uniform policy. Davis said on his official Instagram account that the NFL fined him $7,000 after he wore a headband reading “Man of God” during last week’s game against the Seattle Seahawks.
Per the league uniform policy, “personal messages” are prohibited during games. First-offense fines for this violation are $7,017 at minimum, and a second offense rises to $14,037 minimum. Davis often wears customized headbands and arm sleeves, though this one was the first to carry a personal message, triggering the fine.
“So, I got fined $7K for my headband,” Davis wrote in his Instagram post. “Should I continue to wear it, or nah?” Davis earns $350,000 with each game check this season, so he can likely afford to pay the fine. But it’s still a $14,000 fashion choice.
The NFL maintains a zero-tolerance policy for personalized clothing in games, fining players for everything from wearing unapproved cleats and handwritten messages on undershirts and eye black, to rolling up jerseys to expose players’ abs or maybe-accidentally wearing their knee-high socks too low. Sometimes it gets silly.
