The NFL has decided to suspend Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter. He was suspended one-game, and the league is counting the missed Week 1 game as his sentence being served. This means that Carter misses out on a whopping $57,222 due to his spitting on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott during the Eagles and Cowboys' Thursday Night Football game in Week 1.
Carter has an unfortunate history of discipline. He fell in the 2023 NFL Draft because of his off-the-field issues. The main issue was his being involved in a fatal car crash, where he was charged with reckless driving and racing. His character and effort were also called into question at the NFL Combine when he showed up overweight and performed poorly.
Spitting on another player is something that happens every so often, usually when things get heated in a game. Carter spat on Prescott after the opening kickoff, before either of them even played a snap. Carter was ejected, and now the missed game will officially be labeled as a suspension served.
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Here is more on the suspension for Carter.
Jalen Carter suspension
The NFL investigated the spitting incident that social media colloquially branded as SpitGate. This name stemmed from DeflateGate and SpyGate, the controversies of the NFL's past, and came about because a different angle showed that Prescott spat first, his was just in Carter's direction, and it didn't hit him.
As we know, with penalties in the NFL, the player who retaliates usually is the one who is flagged, and that is what happened in Carter's case. The camera angles were able to zoom in on the spit leaving Carter's mouth and hitting Prescott square in the chest on his jersey. The league took action with the suspension/fine to discourage other players from doing that. The NFL has also made it very clear that they are against unsportsmanlike conduct, which spitting on your opponent certainly qualifies as.
MORE NFL: Did Dak spit first?
Historically, players who have spat on others are hit with fines, and none of them have been suspended past the game they were ejected from, if they were even ejected.
Carter was fined three times by the NFL in 2024. One was in the NFC Championship Game for punching Washington Commanders center Tyler Biadasz, one was against the Steelers after he struck Connor Heyward in the helmet and for putting a player in a headlock against the 49ers.
Carter was hit with a one-game suspension for his spitting on Prescott. Since the ejection happened just after the opening kickoff, the league has decided that Week 1 will serve as his suspension. Carter has chosen not to appeal, and will focus on the Eagles' Week 2 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Full release from the NFL. And it’s important to note this was announced as a suspension, as it sets a precedent moving forward. If a player spits on another during a game, a suspension will surely be the standard. pic.twitter.com/7IYiV78JWx
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) September 9, 2025
Included in the suspension is the loss of Carter's game check for that week. He makes $57,222 per game played, so he will not make that money for Week 1. Previously, spitting incidents were only served with a fine. The choice of the league to label this as a suspension sets a new precedent moving forward.