Denver Broncos T.J. Ward fined $23,000 by NFL

The NFL and Denver Broncos are a bit at odds as of late.

First, T.J. Ward was upset with the personal foul penalty for hitting T.Y. Hilton of the Indianapolis Colts seemingly cleanly, with his shoulder. Though, Hilton was determined a defenseless receiver in the game and it did seem as though Ward launched himself in the air.

Then, Aqib Talib poked Dwayne Allen in the eye, which the officials called a personal foul on the field. On Monday, the cornerback was suspended by the league for one game.

@ScottHastings @DeHuff @MikeEvans1043 @dmac1043 @VicLombardi pic.twitter.com/UeJoITECvg

— Michael Davis (@Michael_C_Davis) November 12, 2015

On Wednesday, Ward was fined by the NFL more than $23k; $17,363 for the hit on Hilton and $5,700 for the untucked jersey, or $23,063 total.

Ward has been playing with the “1980s college style” jersey for weeks now, which is likely why that fine is so large. Starting around the time of Deion Sanders — who always found a way to stand out — the league started putting NFL dress code posters in locker rooms so players know exactly how they should look every time they step onto the field.

So, if you add up the salary which Talib won’t be paid for this week’s game as well as the money Ward was fined for his two infractions, that’s $346,592 this week alone. If you just add up the amount players have been fined this season, it’s a whopping $85,000-plus.

That money, if you’re wondering, goes to charity as well as the Player’s Assistance Fund.

“Yeah, I think I told the players that you’re not going to get the benefit of the doubt sometimes whenever you’re that high, from that standpoint because you start to get reputations in this league,” Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak said Wednesday. “It’s something that we have to change. I know one thing, I don’t want to lose the way that we’re playing defense. I don’t want to lose that in the back half of the season, but I do definitely want to correct and cut down on the penalties that we’ve had.”

For Talib, he’s got to correct the boneheaded eye poking he gave Allen. It not only extended the Colts drive but now hurts the team — as Kubiak explained Monday — because he can’t play this week.

For Ward, he’s got to continue to play with the fierce physicality which has made him a Pro Bowl safety the last two seasons, even if the fines keep coming.

Denver’s defense has been so dominant and ferocious they’ve been intimidating opposing offenses in 2015. That unit gives the Broncos a legitimate chance at winning Super Bowl 50.