Houston Texans cornerback Jaylin Smith will pay $6,223 instead of the original $7,779 penalty after the NFL reduced the fine. The decision, reported Sept. 12 by Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 in a report cited by heavy.com, came before Houston’s regular-season opener against the Buffalo Bills.
The violation involved a shoe logo that could be seen while Smith warmed up during a preseason matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders. The logo’s identity has not been reported. The NFL said Smith had a chance to fix the uniform issue, but determined that a smaller fine was still appropriate.
It was identified as his first violation. The league’s listed first-offense penalties for uniform issues including socks, jerseys and undergarments are $5,971, while unauthorized logos and intellectual-property violations can reach $11,941.
Smith might qualify to recover the money through an NFL policy the NFL Players Association announced in August. Under that policy, players with one offense in covered categories can receive the entire fine back after the season, although the NFLPA did not specify those categories. Since Smith’s incident happened on the playing surface during warmups, it could be considered on-field conduct.
The policy’s relevance to his case remains uncertain, and he would have to avoid another covered violation during the rest of the 2026 regular season.
