At times, the NFL can be a bit bizarre. Of course, it’s something footballers dream of. And probably are ready to make any sacrifices necessary to play in the NFL. One would feel they wouldn’t have to continue making those sacrifices after entering the league. Money and fame might cover everything. But here’s where it gets interesting. Make no mistake—those sacrifices would even take over your food habits. So, if you are a foodie, then ensure you have a separate budget for the fines coming your way.
Retired NFL defensive end Isaac Rochell has just exposed the NFL’s unfair, overweight punishments. In his latest Instagram video, Rochell talks about the need to keep your food habits in check. Otherwise, you might have to keep on writing those cheques to the NFL. “If you’re overweight in the NFL, you’re getting fined. You gotta pay up for that. Hope that the food was good. You get fined $700 a pound per pound that you’re overweight.” See, Rochell is a bit too familiar with the NFL’s overweight punishments. His wife, Allison Kuch, also talked openly about the NFL’s disturbing overweight system.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Isaac Christopher Rochell (@isaacrochell)
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On her Sunday Sports Club podcast in 2023, Kuch broke down the reality of overweight fines. “An NFL player can get fined for being overweight, and I’m not talking about BMI overweight. These players have a lot of muscle—muscle weighs more than fat. I’m talking about if a team sets a player to be a certain weight, and that player weights in over that, they pay a fine. The interesting part about this fine is that it is per pound.” Rochell even pointed out the same concern about the harsh realities of weighing over the limit.
“For instance, you go in, you report to training camp, and they set a weight. My weight was always 275. If I came in and I was 279. I would get fined $2,800 per day until my weight returned.” Well, the only positive Rochell gave about the punishments was, “They don’t fine you for being underweight.” There’s only the cap weight you need to worry about. One player who was the biggest victim of this overweight punishment was defensive lineman Terrance Knighton. Based on the findings of Yahoo Finance, his overweight fines went over $300,000 in just two seasons. Maybe Knighton couldn’t control his urges for some good food. And had to pay the fine for it.
However, those are some older examples of players racking overweight fines. There’s someone in the Bay Area who could soon join Rochell and Knighton in the overweight punishment list.
Deebo Samuel gets called out for being overweight
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See, Samuel will probably play on a different team soon because both the Niners and him are seeking out a trade partner. However, he might not attract a lot of teams out of there because of one reason. And that’s him being overweight. Well, Samuel had an explosive season last year with the Niners going to the Super Bowl. He caught 60 catches for 892 yards and 7 TDs. But this season’s numbers were nowhere near his productions in 2023. Deebo only managed to caught 51 catches for 670 yards and just 3 TDs while playing the same number of games. And also, don’t forget that 49ers star receiver Brandon Aiyuk wasn’t even there to affect Samuel’s productions. So, what’s the reason?
Well, Tim Kawakami of The San Francisco Standard had a very logical answer for Deebo Samuel’s lack of explosiveness. “He had a bad year. He is not in shape…I keep hearing it, 20 pounds overweight and that led to a lot of his lack of explosion, in their belief, his lack of ability to get through tackles, that has kind of been who he is.” Like the numbers are there for everyone to see for themselves. Samuel may not even bring the 49ers a third-round draft pick if you are going by last season.
And there’s also the weight factor. If he really can’t control his weight. Then, Deebo should at least prepare for some hefty fines coming his way. Considering the $700 a pound per pound notion is followed—Samuel still remains 20 pounds over the limit. You can do the calculations yourself. Deebo Samuel would be charged upwards of $14,000 until his weight goes down.