Colin Kaepernick headphones had the San Francisco 49ers quarterback fined with a $10,000 fee by the NFL. Beats headphones have been banned by the league, and the punishment was announced during the post-game press conference that was held on Sunday.
Bose recently took over as the official headphone sponsor of the NFL. As part of the agreement, the entire league has prohibited the public use of all other headphone brands, especially during televised interviews.
This is actually a potential major hit for Beats, which has received quite a lot of exposure from the football athletes. Colin Kaepernick headphones actually have an endorsement deal with Beats and the San Francisco QB has even appeared in one of the company's commercials.
Now that he is going to have to pay $10,000, he refused to answer whether or not Beats will be covering his fine. He only told the media, "We'll let that be unanswered."
As soon as the news of the Beats headphones ban was spread just last week, the NFL has reiterated that the rule was of its own, and was not dictated by Bose. The league said in a statement, "The NFL has long-standing policies that prohibit branded exposure on-field or during interviews unless authorized by the league.
The athletes can actually use equipment from other brands, but they must always make sure that they cover up the logo. Additionally, the league also has quite a long history when it comes to protecting their sponsors, handing out fines whenever their players wear certain gear that has not been approved, before, during, or after the games.
The rules of the league stated that the athletes cannot wear unapproved headphones, or any other gear for that matter, for 90 minutes after the game ends.
Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Shermen is also a spokesman for Beats. He also wore the headphones before the game Monday night, according to @gifdsports with a h/t to Deadspin. It looks like Colin Kaepernick headphones were not the only to get the fine.
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