NFL Announces Punishment on Chiefs Veteran for Smacking Opponent

The Kansas City Chiefs improved to 5-0 with their "Monday Night Football" win over the New Orleans Saints last week. However, not everybody in red and white escaped without incident.

Chiefs' fifth-year defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton, who notched his first full sack of the season in the 26-13 victory, got involved in some extracurricular activity with Saints starting offensive lineman Lucas Patrick. After a play had concluded, Wharton used his left hand to smack Patrick across the facemask, sending his head backward.

According to NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero on Saturday, Wharton's bank account took a hit as a result of his actions.

"The NFL fined #Chiefs DT Tershawn Wharton $11,817 for unnecessary roughness — smacking #Saints OL Lucas Patrick in the facemask last week," Pelissero wrote on X.

The 26-year-old Wharton finished the game with three tackles (one for loss) and the sack, bringing his total to 1.5 on the season. His career-high is 2.0 sacks, which he most recently reached in 2023.

Wharton, who originally signed with Kansas City in 2020, is currently on his second consecutive one-year contract with the Chiefs. He inked a $2.74 million deal with the team back in March.

The Chiefs are on a bye this week but will return to action in Week 7 for a highly anticipated road game against the San Francisco 49ers.

Related: Patrick Mahomes Sent Stern Warning to NFL After Chiefs-Saints

Related: Patrick Mahomes Earns New Two-Word Nickname From Jason Kelce