During the Philadelphia Eagles win last week on Thursday Night Football, former Georgia defensive lineman Jalen Carter was ejected before the first play of the game for spitting on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.
Carter definitely deserved to be kicked out of the game for this, but debates were running rampant surrounding if he should be punished any further. The NFL has finally issued their final punishment on Carter, and it's safe to say that he is getting off pretty easy.
BREAKING: The NFL is fining Eagles DT Jalen Carter $57,222 for spitting on Dak Prescott.
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) September 9, 2025
The game missed vs. the Cowboys in Week 1 will count as the one-game suspension he's already served. pic.twitter.com/Qaqxx6UZpW
Jalen Carter fined for spitting on Dak Prescott
The NFL announced Tuesday night that Carter has been fined $57,222 for this incident. Most importantly though, the NFL will not be suspending him for any future games.
There is a small history of NFL players spitting on their opponents during games. In all of the previous documented examples, each player was ejected from the game the moment it occurred. On top of that, the player was also fined for their actions soon after the incident as well. None of these other players however were suspended for any amount of games, so this decision from the NFL is consistent with how they have handled things in the past.
It is worth clarifying that technically Carter was suspended for one game, but the NFL is counting this game he was ejected from as his suspension.
It's important for Carter to put this incident behind him because he is too valuable to be sitting on the sideline. The Eagles thankfully were still able to win even in his absence, but they may not get so lucky next time.
Regardless, Carter needs to stay out of trouble for the rest of the season because if he gets caught making a mistake again he will be a repeat offender and likely will suffer greater consequences.