Chargers DT Teair Tart fined for slapping Travis Kelce in Week 1 win over Chiefs, per report

The NFL fined Los Angeles Chargers defensive tackle Teair Tart for slapping Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce in the season-opening matchup in Brazil, according to ESPN. The fine associated with a first striking offense is $12,172.

Tart and Kelce scuffled in the third quarter of the Week 1 contest. Kelce shoved Tart, who dealt a retaliatory slap to the tight end’s helmet. Open-handed contact does not constitute an ejection unlike closed-fist strikes, so Tart’s in-game punishment was limited to an unnecessary roughness penalty.

“I don’t understand that rule,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said this week. “I guess it’s open hand, fist, whatever, I don’t know. I don’t know what their decision was on that. But he definitely got hit in the head pretty hard, whether it was an open fist or a closed fist.”

Tart made an apparent reference to the slap after the game on social media, captioning an Instagram post, “I’m too swift with it even in Brazil…” The post seemingly poked fun at Kelce’s engagement to superstar musician Taylor Swift.

The Week 1 divisional showdown marked Tart’s first start in his two seasons with the Chargers and his first since the 2023 campaign when he spent time with the Tennessee Titans. He logged a tackle and batted down two passes in an impactful season debut. Kelce made sizable contributions of his own with two catches for 47 yards and a touchdown.

Tart got the last laugh on the scoreboard as the Chargers defeated the Chiefs, 27-21, to gain an early leg up in the AFC West race.