Earl Thomas' decision to flash his middle finger on national television is going to cost him some serious money.
According to the Seattle Times, the NFL has fined Thomas $13,369 for his actions during the Seahawks' 20-17 win over the Cardinals in Week 4. During the fourth quarter of the game, Thomas suffered a serious injury to his left leg and that's when the drama started. As Thomas was being carted off the field, television cameras caught the Seahawks safety flipping the bird.
Although there was some thought that Thomas was directing his gesture toward Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, it seems that wasn't the case.
According to ESPN.com, Thomas wasn't flipping off any specific individual. Instead, he was giving the middle finger to the Seahawks' organization as a whole. Thomas had been frustrated with the team for months and it seems that his horrific injury against Arizona was when those frustrations finally boiled over.
The Seahawks definitely weren't offended by the gesture as multiple people in the organization, including Carroll, defended him after the incident.
With Thomas now headed to injured reserve due to his broken leg, it likely means he's now played his last down with Seattle, especially when you consider the bad blood that's existed between the two sides over the past few months.
Thomas held out for all of training camp hoping for a new contract, but the Seahawks never even made him an offer. With no new deal, Thomas finally reported just before the start of the regular season so that he wouldn't miss any paychecks. The safety is currently in the final year of a deal that is paying him $8.5 million in base salary this season.
The good news for Thomas is that he's expected to be healthy once free agency begins on March 11. According to NFL.com, the Seahawks safety is expected to undergo surgery on his broken left leg at some point over the next week. Thomas is expected to have a rod put in is leg, which should help stabilize things during his three to four month recovery process.
