Steelers Rumors: George Pickens Has Been Fined $200K by NFL, PIT in 2023-24 Season

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Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens struggled to keep his emotions in check throughout the 2023 season, and he paid a hefty price for his actions.

According to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, a source revealed that Pickens “has been fined at or above $200,000 this year by the NFL and the Steelers combined, a larger-than-average figure for any player regardless of contract status.”

Jones explained that team fines and other league fines are not usually public knowledge, but Pickens’ publicly available fines for unnecessary roughness and unnecessary conduct from the NFL amounted to $33,441. However, the $200,000 figure is a significant chunk of Pickens’ salary, as he’s making a base salary of $1.3 million in the third year of his rookie deal.

Pickens was called out by Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin prior to Week 16 due to his continued emotional outbursts.

“I would like him to be more professional in terms of addressing some of his shortcomings with you guys in order to further add fluidity to the process,” Tomlin said at the time. “He’s not helping himself, he’s not helping the process in the manner in which he has dealt with you guys. But the manner in which he deals with you guys is not necessarily the manner in which he deals with us or himself regarding acknowledging where he is or where he needs to go.”

That message and the financial hit appeared to help Pickens put together a solid finish to the regular season. He caught a combined 11 passes for 326 yards and two touchdowns in Weeks 16 and 17. While he wasn’t targeted in Pittsburgh’s season finale against the Baltimore Ravens, he showed maturity by saying the win was the only thing that mattered.

“He’s in a much better place,” one source told Jones. “He’s doing everything asked of him.”

Pickens will try to help the Steelers upset the Buffalo Bills in Monday’s AFC Wild Card Game.