Seahawks Cooper Helfet explains wacky fine system among tight ends
Dec 13, 2015, 4:24 PM | Updated: 4:37 pm
Tight end Cooper Helfet says he's been fined heavily by teammates for his work a male model. (AP)
(AP)
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Digital Content Producer
If you thought Marshawn Lynch and Michael Bennett were the Seahawks who are most often fined, you haven’t been paying attention to Seattle’s tight ends.
Cooper Helfet told “Seahawks Weekly” about a kangaroo-court fine system among the Seahawks tight end group, where they fine each other for off-the-wall penalties that happen off the field.
“The Big Baller fine – any time you got a new car or say something that is so absurd, or out of the ordinary, you get a Big Baller fine,” Helfet explained. “You get an Uncle Rico fine when you bring back a high school or college highlight. We’ve got an awesome fine system going.”
Helfet said injured starter Jimmy Graham has been docked heavily for his Adidas and Powerade commercials.
Related: With Graham out, Helfet hopes to catch on with improved blocking
“That’s always a solid $250-$300 fine,” he said. “That’s a media fine, but an extensive one – national ones.”
The fourth-year pro said the fine money is pooled together, with half of the funds recently going to a children’s group that buys toys for kids, with the other half going toward a group trip for anyone in the tight ends’ room. Last year the group traveled to Las Vegas.
Helfet, who is a male model when not on the field, said he gets fined heavily for his good looks.
“Every time they put one of those pictures up before team meetings that’s a solid two-hundy going into the fine room,” he said.
Helfet said the fines bumped up in December and that he already felt the hurt to his wallet.
“I already got a $50 fine for just coming here tonight,” he said. “(Luke Willson) heard about it in the locker room.”
