Steelers' Harrison Is sooo Rich, He Can Afford to Risk the Livelihoods of Other Players

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison has no doubt made a career of dishing out hard hits, but before it's over and done someone should let him know that it isn't much of one if you have to actually pay to get the chance to. Indeed, Harrison continued doing his best impression of a start-up rock outfit by paying to play yet again, getting fined by the NFL another $25,000 on Tuesday for his roughing-the-passer penalty on Buffalo Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick this past weekend.

Harrison has now been fined a total of $125,000 this year for four separate illegal hits. Not among those was this other penalty on Oakland Raiders QB Jason Campbell the week before. Harrison has apparently doled out a few too many helmet-too-helmet hits that his vision is so skewed to the point that he actually likened his hit on Fitzpatrick to that on Campbell in trying to dismiss the fine. In the latest incident, he clearly went helmet-to-helmet (it's the last hit in the above montage), while, despite his what can only be described as undeniably ruthless intentions, there was no such contact on Campbell. Considering the trend in his behaviour, it's fair to assume that he was aiming for the helmet and just missed. Was probably disappointed too.



Obviously, with Harrison earning $51.175 million over six seasons, he can treat the $125,000 as a weekend spent in Las Vegas surrounded with high-priced hookers and then forget about it with not so much as an unwanted venereal disease to show for his trouble. In that, he's made his point. But if his head is so hard that he can't get the league's point through his thick skull, maybe commissioner Roger Goodell should seriously consider letting him play without a helmet altogether. Let's see if his style of play changes then.