"Stealing money": NFL fans outraged after Saquon Barkley gets slapped with $45,000 in fines

Saquon Barkley has been fined $45,020 for unnecessary roughness after a play against the Cleveland Browns in Week 6. The Philadelphia Eagles running back made a routine move during a run, lowering his helmet right before having contact with a defender, but the league considered this worthy of a fine.

Since the 2023 season, the league has started to crack down on running backs lowering their helmets to initiate contact with defenders before a tackle. It's been over a decade since the league started its efforts to prevent concussions; however, fining players in these specific plays has been an unpopular measure.

NFL fans were extremely disappointed to hear about the league fining Barkley for unnecessary roughness after this play, with the Eagles running back doing nothing more than a regular football move in their visions:

"So he got fined for playing football? Got it.", said a fan.

"The NFL continues to rob these guys week after week…", wrote another one.

"This is just insane man. There’s no way these Don’t get disputed. Actual ex-players write these fines? No way", was another protest.

Many NFL players have been fined in recent weeks, and the fans have been criticizing a lot of these fines. Even former players such as J. J. Watt have accused the league of stealing money from players.

Saquon Barkley to play against the New York Giants for first time in Week 7

The recently fined running back was drafted by the Giants with the second overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft. He spent six years in New York before ultimately hitting free agency and signing with the Philadelphia Eagles, their divisional rival.

The Giants had many chances to keep Barkley, but they decided against offering him a long-term contract. The Eagles did not blink. In recent years, NFL analysts have been against the teams paying running backs a second contract, but Philadelphia decided to do it.

On Sunday, the running back will return to New York to face the Giants for the first time in his career. After such a great start to the season, with 5.3 yards per carry, it's likely that many Giants fans could be missing him.