Seahawks Golden Tate Could Be $21,000 Poorer

Seahawks receiver Golden Tate has reportedly been fined for his hit on Dallas linebacker Sean Lee during Seattle's 27-7 victory Sunday.

Golden Tate's block of Dallas linebacker Sean Lee was the signature play of the Seahawks' victory over the Cowboys on Sunday. It has been played and replayed over and over on sports TV this week, and is one of the most popular videos on Youtube as well.

A Dallas media outlet, ESPNDallas has reported that Tate will be fined $21,000 by the NFL for what people are calling "The Block".  The league notifies players about fines early in the week, but doesn't release the amount of the fines until Friday.

Danny O'Neil of the Seattle Times reported last night about the reported fine:

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said after Sunday's game he expected the league would fine Tate.

"I'm sure they will," Jones said in Dallas' locker room. "We saw the same thing you saw. That's certainly something we know or expect penalties and fines about."

Specifically, NFL rules have changed in recent years, limiting where a blocker can strike a defensive player who is in pursuit of an opponent and does not see the block coming. In that situation, the player in pursuit is classified as defenseless and cannot be struck above the shoulders.

Tate said after the game he believed he struck his opponent in the chest. However, the rule also limits striking the opponent with the helmet.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll was asked about the block Monday.

"I don't think he could have done it any cleaner," Carroll said. "It was very physical, but he didn't hit the guy in the head and he didn't hit him with his helmet, and he tried to not."

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