Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Lions' Amon-Ra St. Brown gets punished by NFL for incident in Commanders game

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Nov 15, 2025 8:22 PM ET

Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown has received punishment from the NFL for the incident that got Washington Commanders defensive lineman Daron Payne ejected in Week 10.

St. Brown was fined $12,172 for smacking Payne’s facemask during last Sunday’s game.

Payne had argued that St. Brown was the instigator of the incident, for which the Commanders lineman was eventually ejected.

St. Brown was not penalized for the play, as officials evidently did not see his initial move toward Payne. Payne responded by punching St. Brown, and he was ejected and given a one-game suspension for his actions.

The NFL fined Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown $12,172 for unnecessary roughness — smacking the facemask of Daron Payne, who later retaliated by punching St. Brown, earning an ejection and one-game suspension.

Here’s the initial incident from Payne’s IG:

pic.twitter.com/aMVsLkc3lW
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 15, 2025

Video of St. Brown’s actions did not emerge until well after the game, and the Commanders seemingly wanted to argue that if Payne’s actions warranted a suspension, his did as well. The league does not agree, but St. Brown will be a bit lighter in the wallet because of it.

St. Brown has 64 catches for 693 yards on the season and has scored eight touchdowns.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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