Nick Bosa Fined By NFL For Wearing MAGA Hat On NBC Postgame Interview

Nick Bosa has been fined by the NFL for his viral MAGA hat display in Week 8, and predictably, conservatives are not going to be happy, while liberals will rejoice.

Give the liberals a break, folks. They've had it rough lately.

The NFL fined Bosa $11,255 for wearing a white hat inscribed with Make America Great Again in gold lettering and then photobombing the postgame interview on NBC after the Sunday Night Football game between the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Nick Bosa of the San Francisco 49ers takes the field for their game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Levi's Stadium on October 20, 2024. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

NFL's Outcome To Bosa Photobomb

The NFL held off the announcement and actually didn't announce the fine but leaked it via sources. The league previously held off on this fine until after the elections for, well, it didn't give a reason. 

It's been two weeks since this happened and the league typically announces fines the next week.

Bosa is the first NFL player this season to be fined for violating the league policy against displaying personal messages.

And he probably isn't too upset about it. Speaking one day after Republican Donald Trump steamrolled Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the race for the White House, Bosa told reporters wearing the hat on national TV just days prior to the election was "well worth it."

And although he had not yet been fined at the time, he didn't seem upset it might happen.

"If it comes, it comes," Bosa said.

Some May Claim Fine Political

It's possible the folks who support the MAGA and President-elect Trump's movement may claim this is the NFL sending a message against conservative freedom of expression.

They may claim the league is pushing back on Bosa's political statement with one of its own.

The NFL has often been silent on issues of freedom of expression, including this year prior to its big game in Brazil.

But Bosa is not the first 49ers player fined for displaying clothing or gear with personal messaging. 

LAS VEGAS - George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers walks off the field during Super Bowl LVIII against the Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium on February 11, 2024. (Photo by Ryan Kang/Getty Images)

NFL Fined George Kittle In 2023

Tight end George Kittle last season was fined $13,659 by the league for unsportsmanlike conduct after the tight end raised his jersey to reveal a personalized T-shirt underneath in a win over the Cowboys.

Kittle exposed a T-shirt that read "F--- Dallas."

While Make America Great Again is not obscene or profane, it is apparently considered a personalized message by the NFL.

And the NFL has a history of such fines beyond the 49ers in recent years.

Robert Griffin III. Photo: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

NFL Has History Of Such Fines

In 2013, Robert Griffin III was fined $10,000 for an apparel violation. That fine came when Griffin wore a T-shirt reading "Operation Patience" while he warmed up before a preseason game against the Steelers at FedEx Field. 

"Operation Patience" was coined by Griffin as his and the Redskins' plan to miss the entire preseason while he recovered from knee surgery.  

In December of 2011, then Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker was fined $10,000 for wearing a hat with the logo of an energy bar company he invested in. Welker, who wore the hat to a press conference, was upset by the fine because he had apparently worn the same hat to previous press conferences and had not been fined.

That speaks to the NFL's sometimes inconsistent application of its fine schedule on such matters. 

The Miami Dolphins' Ja'Wuan James wears a T-shirt supporting Colin Kaepernick during warm-ups against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium in Meadowlands, N.J., on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017. (Jim Rassol/Sun Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

NFL Deems What Is OK, What Isn't

NFL players in recent years have at times worn T-shirts with personalized messaging in favor of BLM or Colin Kaepernick both before and after games and were not fined. 

Most of those Kaepernick shirts date back to 2017 while the BLM shirts date back to the rise of that movement around 2020-21.

The NFL allowed for the promotion of BLM. 

And it wasn't just players wearing the T-shirts. Sometimes it was members of the coaching staff. Or sometimes even a majority of entire teams.

CLEVELAND - Indianapolis Colts Head Coach Frank Reich wears a Black Lives Matter t-shirt prior to during a NFL game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Cleveland Browns on October11, 2020 at FirstEnergy Stadium. (Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

NFL Promotes It's Own Social Slogans

The NFL itself has engaged in use of social or politically charged slogans.

In 2020, the league allowed players to display messages such as "Stop Hate" and "Black Lives Matter" on their helmets.

The league also signed off on players assigning the names of black people, such as George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin and others on their helmets after those people's deaths set off protests and, in some cases, riots around the country.

Then, starting with the 2021 season, players were allowed to choose a decal with one of six messages to place on the back of their helmets: 

"End Racism," 

"Stop Hate," 

"It Takes All of Us,"

 "Black Lives Matter,"

 "Inspire Change:

"Say Their Stories."

And the league that is banning personal messaging itself fully embraces personal messaging on its fields, such as "Salute To Service," "End Racism," and "It Takes All of Us."

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Colin Kaepernick #7 of the San Francisco 49ers kneels for the National Anthem before their game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Levi's Stadium on October 23, 2016.  (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Comparing Bosa And Kaepernick

There are questions about how Bosa's political message compares with that of Kaepernick. 

One way it does not compare is that Kaepernick was never fined for kneeling during the national anthem in protest for what he said was "systematic racism" and "oppression" in America.

No NFL player or coach who ever joined his protest during the national anthem was ever fined by the league.

There's also another major difference: Nick Bosa is good enough to remain in the NFL despite his personal political statement.