Baker Mayfield Fined Over $10,000 for TD Celebration vs. Bengals

Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield was fined $10,026 for a sideline celebration following a touchdown pass against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network:

Jason McIntyre of the Big Lead provided video of the celebration, which resembled a certain D-Generation X gesture for any late-1990s and early-2000s WWF fans.

Mayfield had plenty to celebrate after the game, as his Browns beat the Bengals 26-18 to improve to 7-7-1.

Per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, Mayfield's agent, Tom Mills, said the rookie will appeal the fine.

Mayfield has a reputation as an honest player who isn't afraid to show emotion. Some people like it, while others don't.

That public persona stretches back to his days at Oklahoma, when he planted the OU flag on the Ohio State logo and made a gesture and yelled at the Kansas sideline.

His actions this season have involved staring down ex-Browns coach Hue Jackson and calling him "fake" in an Instagram comment.

Mayfield did not apologize for his staredown and explained where he was coming from.

"I don't get why people have a problem with football being a competitive sport," Mayfield told reporters Wednesday. "You're supposed to play with emotion. You're supposed to play with passion. Quite honestly, if you don't like it, whatever. Football is not meant to be a soft game. I could care less."

His winning makes everything more palatable for fans. If he were in charge of a 3-12 Browns team and doing similar things, then public opinion may be more slanted against him. But he's led a franchise that went 1-31 over its past two seasons to a 7-5-1 mark in games he's played this year, which perhaps puts more people in his corner.

Regardless of where one falls on the Mayfield spectrum (and some of his actions can't be defended), his honesty is refreshing.

Many athletes speak in cliches to avoid being the center of attention for the wrong reasons, but the quarterback doesn't care much about reactions to his comments. Nor do Browns teammates, coaches and staff, who seem to love him, as noted by this "Mic'd Up" segment (h/t Evan Silva of Rotoworld):

Ultimately, Mayfield is a great entertainer, which makes him one of the more fun professional athletes to watch.