NFL overturns Joe Mixon fine for criticizing officials in wake of Texans-Chiefs

Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon won his appeal of the $25,000 fine he received from the NFL for his comments after the Kansas City Chiefs playoff game. NFL hearing officer Chris Palmer made the ruling as he determined Mixon did not criticize the officials after the Texans’ loss to the Chiefs.

“During the appeal hearing, you stated what you meant by your statements referring to the officials,” Palmer wrote in his letter to Mixon. “As you know, statements can be interpreted differently by every individual and it seems like you clearly understand the weight and detriment of public criticism towards officials can be, given how your platform is as a player, which I appreciate.

“Integrity of the game and its officials is the responsibility of everyone involved in the NFL. After reviewing the totality of the evidence, I find that you did not necessarily publicly criticize the officials Accordingly for the reasons set forth above, the NFL will rescind the $25,000 fine amount.”

Why the NFL fined Joe Mixon after the Texans’ playoff loss to the Chiefs

The NFL originally thought that Mixon said, “Why play the game if every 50/50 call goes with Chiefs. These officials are trash and bias.” Mixon didn’t say that as the quote is from a social media post included in a Sports Illustrated article about Mixon’s thoughts on the officials.

“Everybody know how it is playing up here. You can never leave it into the refs hands. The whole world see, man,” Mixon told reporters after the game.

The quote Mixon was fined for came from former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver TJ Houshmandzadeh who shared his thoughts on the officiating on X.

Mixon’s agent, Peter Schaffer told Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that the star running back will “defend and appeal” the fine and “will explore all other legal avenues to rectify this situation.” Florio also mentioned that Mixon’s actual quote was not mentioned in the fine letter.

Mixon joined the Texans last year after spending his first six NFL seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals. The former Oklahoma Sooners running back had one of his best seasons in 2024, rushing for 1,016 yards and 11 touchdowns while catching 36 passes for 309 yards and one score. His production last season led to him being named to the Pro Bowl for the second time in his career.