NFL fines Chargers' Teair Tart $12,172 for slapping Travis Kelce in Brazil opener
League issues fine for open-hand contact after on-field altercation in São Paulo; Tart avoided ejection during game
The NFL has fined Los Angeles Chargers defensive tackle Teair Tart $12,172 for slapping Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce during the teams' season-opening game in São Paulo last week, the league announced Saturday.
The incident occurred on a scoring drive that ended with a Patrick Mahomes touchdown. Video showed Kelce engaged as a blocker when Tart, a 6-foot-2, 315-pound lineman, shoved him and then struck him across the helmet with an open palm after Kelce released the block. Kelce appeared unhurt and turned to the referees to appeal for action at the time.
Officials did not eject Tart during the game, saying the contact was an open-hand strike rather than a closed fist or punch, which would have required disqualification under the rules, a broadcast rules analyst said. The fine imposed by the league corresponds to a first striking offense, according to ESPN, which reported the sanction.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid criticized the discrepancy in immediate in-game enforcement and the absence of an ejection. "I don't understand that rule. I guess it's open-hand, fist, whatever, I don't know," Reid said, according to NFL.com. "I don't know what their decision was on that. But he definitely got hit in the head pretty hard, whether it was an open fist or a closed fist." Reid added he would "work that out with the league."
Tart drew further attention on social media after the game. He reposted a clip from a Dave Chappelle skit that references a slap and later shared photos from the contest with the caption, "I'm too swift with it even in Brazil…" Kelce did not visibly retaliate on the field and remained in the game.
The Chargers held on for a 27-21 victory in the international season opener. The fine for Tart is one of a series of discipline-related decisions the NFL has announced in the early weeks of the 2025 season.
The Chiefs return to action with a Super Bowl rematch against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. The Chargers' next game is a divisional matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders.