In a gesture of defiance, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick donned pink Beats by Dre headphones at a press conference following Sunday’s victory — and got slapped with a fine for flouting the league’s ban on the headgear.
49ers Quarterback Colin Kaepernick Flouts Beats Ban, Gets Fined
Brand loyalty can get expensive.
Beats by Dre
As Re/code reported Saturday, the NFL has an exclusive marketing agreement with Bose that effectively bans other manufacturers’ headphones during televised interviews.
The ban extends to interviews conducted during training camp, practice and on game day, from kickoff to post-game, until 90 minutes after play has ended.
https://twitter.com/beatsbydre/status/518949240806973442/photo/1
Kaepernick, who has been featured in Beats ads, showed up at Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs wearing the pink Beats to promote breast cancer awareness.
Kaepernick told ESPN the league fined him $10,000 for wearing the headphones during his interview. An NFL spokesperson didn’t respond to requests seeking comment, and a team spokesperson declined comment.
Beats was acquired by Apple earlier this year in a $3 billion deal.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
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