The NFL fining Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook for throwing a ball into the stands in Week 6 was already ridiculous.
Then came the league’s omission to its original fine.
After fining Cook $7,426 fine for throwing a ball into the stands after a game-clinching 53-yard touchdown run against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium, the NFL announced it would be reducing his fine due to a rule under the collectible bargaining agreement — but under one condition.
Cook has to complete an “online remedial training course” and not get fined again this season, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported.
The total saved: $1,485 in exchange for Cook’s class time.
“The NFL informed #Vikings RB Dalvin Cook it reduced his fine for throwing the ball into the crowd Oct. 16 from $7,426 to $5,941, per source,” NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero tweeted on October 25. “Under the CBA, the 25% reduction is contingent on Cook completing an online remedial training course and not getting fined again in 2022.”
Cook had some fun with the update on his fine, acknowledging he’ll have to go back to the chalkboard at the age of 27.
Dalvin Cook Trolls NFL for Requiring Him to Take Class
Replying to Pelissero’s tweet, Cook did his best Bart Simpson impression, retweeting Pelissero’s update with the caption: “4️⃣ will not throw 🏈 in stands after touchdown.”
His reply went viral, receiving over 12,000 likes.
pic.twitter.com/LR6BjmQQDc
— OutKick (@Outkick) October 25, 2022
However, Cook quickly cleared the air that he wasn’t trying to make a complete mockery of the NFL and acknowledged it’s simply the league rules.
“In all seriousness kids stay in school don’t break rules !! – 4️⃣,” Cook tweeted.
Vikings Coming Out of Bye Week as Contenders in NFC
Coming out of the bye week 5-1 and second in the NFC standings, the Vikings are already deeply entrenched in the playoff picture.
FiveThirtyEight has Minnesota with a 92% chance of making the postseason and an 88% chance to win the division. One or two home playoff games are in the cards for a Vikings team that hasn’t won convincingly most of the season but is rallying as “situational masters” under first-year head coach Kevin O’Connell.
The NFC isn’t nearly as vaunted of a conference as it was in past seasons. Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers look washed. Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers are in ruin amid a three-game losing skid. The Philadelphia Eagles are the only team that has looked undoubtedly better than Minnesota through seven weeks.
That begs the question of whether first-year general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will sink some resources into making a trade before the November 1 deadline and take a run at the postseason.
The Vikings general manager expressed he’s averse to going all-in in any season, but with a team that still has plenty of room to improve on both sides of the ball sitting with just one loss on the season, Adofo-Mensah may have to give O’Connell some investment this season in what could be, at the very least, a morale-building season for the new regime.
