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On Christmas, Travis Kelce paid tribute to Tony Gonzalez after catching the touchdown he needed to break the equally legendary tight end’s receiving record. He likely knew a fine was coming his way after dunking the ball through the goalpost, but he won’t have to worry about covering the tab.
Tony Gonzalez spent the bulk of his 17-year NFL career as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Hall of Famer hauled in 76 touchdowns during the 190 games he played over the course of the 12 seasons he spent with the team that selected him with the 13th overall pick in the 1997 NFL Draft.
Gonzalez was a two-sport athlete who played football and basketball at Cal, and he frequently paid tribute to the game he left behind by celebrating touchdowns with the slam dunks that saw him use the crossbar at the bottom of the goalpost in place of a hoop.
That particular move technically violated an NFL rule that prohibits the use of the uprights the league defined as a “prop,” and prior to the start of the 2014 season (the first after Gonzalez’s retirement), the powers that be informed players they’d be hit with a 15-yard penalty and subjected to a possible fine if they pulled out the celebration (which likely stemmed from the game that was delayed after Jimmy Graham, who also played football and basketball in college, bent the upright with a dunk the previous season).
However, that didn’t stop Travis Kelce from going that route after surpassing Gonzalez for the most touchdown receptions in Chiefs history with 77 thanks to the 12-yard connection from Patrick Mahomes that helped Kansas City pad its lead over the Steelers toward the start of the fourth quarter of their Christmas Day showdown.
Kelce tied Gonzalez when he caught a touchdown when the Chiefs played the Broncos on November 10th but was in the midst of a six-game scoreless streak heading into Wednesday’s contest. During that drought, the retired TE offered to pay the fine if the 35-year-old heir to his throne pulled out a dunk after breaking his record, and he confirmed Kelce won’t have to worry about forking over his own cash after the new mark was set.
What a guy.