Pittsburgh Steelers WR DK Metcalf tries to catch a pass against the Baltimore Ravens. Ed Thompson/Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers were fined $749,747 during the 2025–26 season — the second-highest total in the NFL, according to new data from The Action Network. Only the Washington Commanders ($1.49 millon) lost more money to league discipline.
The Steelers had 18 total infractions (second-most in the NFL). The Steelers’ $749,747 in total fines accounted for nearly 9% of all league-wide fine money.
The Steelers were the third-most fined team in the NFL during the 2024 season. In the last three seasons, the Steelers have been in the top 3 among most-fined teams. The Steelers were the most-fined team in the NFL in 2023, with fines totaling $478,091.
At the player level, Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf was responsible for a substantial share of Pittsburgh’s total, losing over $582,000 following a two-game suspension and multiple conduct-related fines — making him one of the most financially penalized repeat offenders in the league this season.
League-wide, teams combined to lose $8,532,506 across 428 infractions, though overall fine totals declined compared to last season.
Former Steelers wide receiver George Pickens was by far the most fined member of the Steelers in 2024. He earned fines totaling $90,548 over the course of the season. The Steelers were hoping that moving on from Pickens would put an end the on-field antics. That wasn’t the case, however, with Metcalf’s skirmish with a Lions fan in Week 16 in Detroit, resulting in a two-game suspension.
The Metcalf situation is not over, either. It’s now a legal matter.
Ryan Kennedy, the Lions fan who had an incident with DK Metcalf in December, filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit against the Steelers receiver, his team and several well-known sports media figures and companies, the Detroit Metro Times reported earlier this month.
Kennedy, a Lions season-ticket holder and mortgage company executive, filed the lawsuit in Wayne County Circuit Court, claiming he was publicly labeled a racist following the confrontation, which happened during the Steelers’ Week 16 game against the Lions at Ford Field. Kennedy alleges that Metcalf initiated the physical contact without being provoked. Kennedy said he referred to Metcalf by his full name.
Along with Metcalf and the Steelers, Kennedy sued Chad Johnson, Shay Shay Media LLC, All Time Sports LLC and Ford Field Management LLC. Johnson spoke about the situation later that night.
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