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A Chiefs $4.5 million safety has been hit with an NFL penalty for a play involving Colts quarterback Daniel Jones.
Kansas City safety Jaden Hicks was hit this week with the second NFL penalty of his career when he received a $6,707 fine for a hit to the head and neck of Colts quarterback Daniel Jones in Kansas City’s Week 2 overtime win.
The number was below the league’s average first-offense rate for roughing the passer, though Hicks settled into a bigger defensive role with Chamarri Conner on the sideline.
The NFL’s official accountability log lists Hicks for a $6,707 penalty, categorized as a hit on the quarterback and a blow to the head-neck area, at the 9:34 mark of the first quarter in Kansas City’s 33-30 overtime victory over Indianapolis on Sept. 20.
Fine of Roughing-the-Passer by Jaden Hicks
The flag came on the Colts’ opening scoring run. Jones completed an 11-yard pass to Josh Downs on third-and-4 to reach the Kansas City 3-yard line when Hicks was called for roughing the passer. The penalty was called halfway to the field goal, and Jones found tight end Tyler Warren for a touchdown two plays later. Indianapolis took a 20-17 lead into halftime before Kansas City rallied in the second half and overtime.
Hicks finished with 10 tackles, five of them solo, according to Kansas City’s own game statistics, as cited by Athlon Sports. The league’s 2026 fine schedule lists $17,911 for a first-offense hit on a quarterback and $23,882 for repeat violations, a metric that puts Hicks’ punishment below the standard rate.
Hicks Fine History, Duties and Contracts
The punishment in Week 2 marked Hicks’ second documented league fine. He previously paid $5,151 for a teasing penalty against Pittsburgh on Christmas Day of the 2024 season, according to Spotrac’s fine ledger for Hicks. Combined, the two penalties totaled $11,858 in racing discipline.
A native of Las Vegas out of Bishop Gorman High School, Hicks starred at Washington State before being selected by Kansas City in the fourth round of the 2024 draft, 133rd overall. He posted a team-high three interceptions as a rookie, added 42 tackles in a more rotational 2025 season, then opened 2026 with two starts and a rising snap count.
Hicks is now starting at safety with Alohi Gilman in Conner’s absence with a knee injury, and he’s played every defensive snap in two weeks, according to RotoWire’s view. That elevated role is expected to be held as long as Conner remains sidelined, a change from the more situational usage last season after his interception-heavy rookie debut, according to Kansas City’s own roster page.
Financially, Hicks is working on a four-year, $4,548,708 rookie contract that includes a $528,708 signing bonus that is fully guaranteed upon signing, an average annual value of about $1.14 million. His 2026 base salary is $1,075,000 against a cap hit of close to $1.2 million, and he is set to reach unrestricted free agency in 2028.
Kansas City improved to 2-0 with the win over Indianapolis and will next host a Week 3 matchup, where Hicks’ fine will be subject to appeal through the league’s standard grievance process.
Jonathan Vankin JONATHAN VANKIN is an award-winning journalist covering MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, boxing, golf, and Olympic sports for Heavy.com. He has twice won New England Newspaper and Press Association awards for sports feature writing. He is a sports editor and writer at The Daily Yomiuri in Tokyo, Japan, covering the Olympics, pro baseball, boxing, sumo and other sports. More about Jonathan Vankin