Right up to his last moment on the field, J.J. McCarthy had a largely regrettable first season as the Minnesota Vikings' starting quarterback. He would surely like to leave a 2025 season marked by injuries and ineffectiveness behind and look toward what will be a critical offseason for his development and future.
But McCarthy put himself in the potential crosshairs of the NFL disciplinary office early in the regular season finale against the Green Bay Packers.
At the end of a run on the first drive of the game, McCarthy lowered his shoulder into Packers' cornerback Keisean Nixon on his way out of bounds. He also had some words for Nixon, and drew a 15-yard penalty for taunting that helped a promising opening drive end with just a field goal.
Saturdays are the day for the league office to dole out any fines for the previous week's appropriate on-field infractions. As reported by NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, and as somewhat expected given that he drew a penalty for it, McCarthy drew a $11,593 fine for his Week 18 interaction with Nixon.
League office sends Minnesota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy into offseason with hit to his wallet
At first glance, an $11,593 fine for taunting, even while likely using some profanity in the process, feels hefty. But the NFL has put an emphasis on players acting more gentlemanly this season, and fines have been doled out accordingly when incidents like the one between McCarthy and Nixon have happened.
For his part, Nixon either didn't say anything back to McCarthy (which seems unlikely), or what he said wasn't heard by the official who threw the flag. But McCarthy was obviously the instigator, and he has been punished in-kind.
Fine money comes out of a player's base salary. Based on 18 weeks, McCarthy's $960,000 base salary this year breaks down to $53,333 per week. So the league will be taking 21.7 percent of his Week 18 salary, and making a charitable donation on his (anonymous) behalf.
Hopefully, McCarthy learned many lessons he will take forward and be better because of them during his first season playing for the Vikings. The league office offered a slightly different lesson he'll now take into his offseason, hitting him right where it hurts the most as the final black mark of a dismal season.