It’s been more than a week since Kyle Juszczyk initiated the appeal for his fine of $14,926, which he received after his memorable juice-drinking celebration.
On Thursday, the 49ers’ 10-time Pro Bowler shared his thoughts with reporters about the appeal experience.
“It feels a bit like what I imagine a court hearing would be,” Juszczyk remarked. “They read out your fine and discuss the regulations. You have the opportunity to explain what happened during the play, your role, and what was going through your mind.”
He went on to highlight the process where agents can voice their perspective, the NFL Players Association gets to speak, and then the player just has to wait for the outcome.
Right now, there’s no definitive timeline for the appeal results; it can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months to hear back.
Juszczyk mentioned he’s still waiting for a response regarding the fine and remains optimistic that things will turn out alright.
As for the league’s ruling to impose the fine, he’s still not pleased about it.
Upon learning about the fine, Juszczyk received a letter from the league stating: “Your imitation of chugging a beer constituted an offensive demonstration and could reasonably be construed as being in poor taste.”
He clarified that he wasn’t actually drinking beer during the celebration and expressed his belief that pretending to drink it shouldn’t warrant a fine.
“Even if it had been beer, I don’t see how that would be an issue with all the beer endorsements in the NFL. Honestly, I really don’t think it was a violation,” he commented regarding his hearing over the fine.
Juszczyk also pointed out the NFL’s partnership with Bud Light, their official beer sponsor, which adds another layer to his frustration.
“With so many beer endorsements the NFL has, even if my celebration had involved beer, which it didn’t, I still wouldn’t consider it a violation,” he reiterated.
After the news of his fine broke, Bud Light responded to a teammate’s post on X, confirming that Juszczyk does not actually drink beer.
On Friday, Bud Light seemed to take action in light of the fines with the launch of a new marketing initiative called the “Celly Jar,” aiming to give out a total of $37,384—the same amount that had been fined to Juszczyk, Colts guard Matt Goncalves, and Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson for their drinking celebrations the previous week.
Despite his frustration with the league, Juszczyk and his wife, Kristin, decided to lighten the mood. After coming home from practice post-fine, they made a light-hearted TikTok video where they playfully made juice.
