Kareem Jackon’s head hits are proving to be costly.
Before Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers, the Denver Broncos’ safety had been ejected once and fined four times for $89,670 through six games.
Following his head-to-head hit against Packers tight end Luke Musgrave in Week 7, Jackson was ejected again and he received a four-game suspension from the NFL on Monday.
Jackson will forfeit his four game checks during that suspension totaling $558,888, according to Spotrac.com. That missed salary combined with Jackson’s $89,670 in fines brings his grand total to $648,558 this season.
Jackson’s base salary this year is $2.515 million, so his fines and suspensions have negated more than 25% of his pay this season.
Earlier this month, Jackson lamented on the Ross Tucker Podcast that the NFL’s fine system has gotten “completely out of hand.”
“You [can appeal] and they give you back half your money, but it’s still some B.S.,” Jackson said. “It’s like, you’re taking money from me for these things that — I’m not out here trying to maliciously hurt people.”
Jackson has appealed all of his fines so far and he has had at least three of them reduced. He will also appeal his suspension and that could be reduced as well. But with another fine likely on deck this week, it seems safe to assume Jackson will lose at least half a million in pay this year.