The NFL has handed down a punishment for Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase for spitting on Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Jalen Rams ey.
Ramsey was ejected from Sunday's game for punching Chase, and after the contest was over, Ramsey revealed that the Bengals wideout spit on him first, which is what led to the punch.
While Chase denied he did such a thing, video evidence said otherwise and now the NFL has ruled that the four-time Pro Bowler will be suspended for one game, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
"NFL suspended Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase for spitting at Steelers DB Jalen Ramsey. Chase denied spitting at Ramsey, but the league determined the video evidence was sufficient to warrant a suspension," Schefter wrote.
Chase is going to appeal, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport wrote.
If Chase's suspension is upheld, he will lose his $448,333 weekly pay check, along with a $58,823 per-game active bonus, which amounts to a grand total of $507,156.
That amount is based on Chase's base salary of $8.07 million. Of course, Chase is in the final year of his rookie deal, so his $161 million contract extension hasn't kicked in yet or else he would get docked double that aforementioned amount.
The video evidence of Chase spitting on Ramsey is quite clear, so he's going to have a very difficult time winning the appeal.
Field-level view of the second altercation between Ja'Marr Chase and Jalen Ramsey. Chase said "I didn't spit on nobody."
— Austin Briski (@austin_briski) November 16, 2025
The video clearly shows he did.#Bengals @FOX19 pic.twitter.com/ooGzInoPdS
There is precedent for Chase to be suspended for spitting.
Back in Week 1, Jalen Carter of the Philadelphia Eagles was ejected for spitting at the Dallas Cowboys and would have faced a suspension if he wasn't booted before the first offensive snap, which amounted to time served in the eyes of the NFL.
Now, it'll be interesting to see if Ramsey will face any kind of punishment outside of a fine.
We have seen both Washington Commanders defensive lineman Daron Payne and Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch get suspended for throwing punches this season, so there's precedent for Ramsey to get suspended, also, although it remains to be seen if the NFL views his situation differently after he was spit on.
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