Seahawks News: Misidentified ’Staffer’ Hit With Fine for Week 15 Sideline Altercation

The Seattle Seahawks (7-7) kept their postseason hopes with a victory over the Philadelphia Eagles (10-4) in Week 15.

Before the Seahawks won 20-17, there was a sideline incident involving Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown and backup center Joey Hunt. ESPN announcer Joe Buck misidentified Hunt on the Monday Night Football broadcast as a “staff member of the Seahawks,” which caused the altercation to go viral.

While no flags were thrown, the NFL slapped Hunt with a $1,610 fine for unsportsmanlike conduct on Friday, December 22, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Brown kickstarted the altercation by giving Seahawks cornerback Mike Jackson a push while walking back toward the field. Afterward, Hunt shoved his shoulder into Brown, which set the 26-year-old receiver off. Brown then shoved Hunt back. Refs separated the two players and the game resumed.

Several fans balked at the $1,610 fine being so low. One person posted on X, $1,610? What kind of fine is that? Costs me more than that to take my family to the game.”

The usual fine for unsportsmanlike conduct is upwards of $13,659 as a first offense. However, it’s a pro-rated fee since Hunt is a member of the Seahawks’ practice squad, not the 53-man roster.

Veteran practice squad members earned a minimum of $16,000 per week, which pays them a $289,000 salary for the regular season, per SB Nation. The maximum salary for a veteran practice squad player is $20,600 a week.

Hunt, who appeared in 34 games with the Seahawks between 2016 and 2019, spent a year with the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad before returning to Seattle in 2022.

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Seahawks Trolled Joey Hunt With a ‘STAFFER’ Jersey at Practice

As Schefter mentioned in his report, the Seahawks had fun with Hunt getting mislabeled as a staffer member on primetime TV. On December 21, the team’s official Twitter account posted photos of the former sixth-round pick from the 2016 NFL draft wearing a “STAFFER” jersey.

The Seahawks’ social media team riffed off the closing shot of John Hughes’ 1985 film, The Breakfast Club. They shared the post with the caption, “Don’t you forget about me.”

Hunt hasn’t appeared in a game since 2020, while he was a practice squad flier with the Colts.

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Eagles Fans Compared A.J. Brown’s Scuffle With the Seahawks ‘Staffer’ to Security Dom DiSandro’s Situation

Before Hunt was identified on the sidelines, Eagles fans called for this “staffer” to receive the same punishment as their beloved security staffer Dom DiSandro.

DiSandro was banned from appearing on the sideline after an altercation with San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw in Week 13. Both DiSandro and Greenlaw were immediately ejected from the game. The NFL slapped Greenlaw with a $10,927 fine for his hit on Eagles receiver DeVonta Smith, which prompted the altercation with DiSandro, per ESPN.

Last week, the NFL sent a memo to all teams to “please ensure that all members of your game-day staff understand that their role does not extend to being involved with game day altercations and that they must refrain from such involvement.”

Because Hunt is neither a staff member nor a member of the active roster, his fine was understandably less. Based on the Seahawks’ reaction to the incident on social media, there’s no concern over Hunt getting punished by the team for his sideline shove.

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