# Do the players have to pay for the footballs that they give to fans?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-players-have-to-pay-for-the-footballs-that-they-give-to-fans/337283>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 26, 2005, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-players-have-to-pay-for-the-footballs-that-they-give-to-fans/337283 "2005-12-26T20:58:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2005, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-players-have-to-pay-for-the-footballs-that-they-give-to-fans/337283/1 "2005-12-26T20:58:17Z")

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When a football player scores a touchdown and throws or hands the ball to someone in the stands, does he have to pay for the ball? What does it cost him?

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**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2005, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-players-have-to-pay-for-the-footballs-that-they-give-to-fans/337283/2 "2005-12-26T21:41:41Z")

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My brother-in-law says it is an automatic fine.

Regards,  
Shodan

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**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2005, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-players-have-to-pay-for-the-footballs-that-they-give-to-fans/337283/3 "2005-12-26T21:55:09Z")

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Some years ago the player could throw the ball into the stands with no penalty. Then the league instituted an automatic fine to discourage the practice. Not sure, but I think the fine is $100 which basically covers the cost of the ball.

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**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2005, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-players-have-to-pay-for-the-footballs-that-they-give-to-fans/337283/4 "2005-12-26T22:21:49Z")

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The fine appears to be variable. In 2002, Michael Vick was fined $2500 for throwing a ball into the stands, at about the same time that he was fined $5000 for a dress code violation. He appealed, and the NFL eventually rescinded both fines and reduced them to warnings.

The cost of the ball is trivial. Wilson “official NFL” balls retail for about $60:

[http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?dest=9999999997&product\_id=1626886&sourceid=1500000000000001245850](http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?dest=9999999997&product_id=1626886&sourceid=1500000000000001245850)

The teams undoubtedly get them from a commercial supplier for less.

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**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\
**Post date:** [December 27, 2005, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-players-have-to-pay-for-the-footballs-that-they-give-to-fans/337283/5 "2005-12-27T00:04:02Z")

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> [@yabob](#):
>
> The cost of the ball is trivial. Wilson “official NFL” balls retail for about $60:

Yea, but you need to include sales tax, shipping & handling, NFL fine administration charges, agent fees and all of the rest of the malarky that is used to diguise actual out of pocket costs.