NFL star faces ban after punching Travis Kelce's teammate

An NFL star could face suspension after throwing a punch that sparked a post-match brawl on Sunday night (October 12).

The Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions faced off at Arrowhead Stadium, where the former won 30-17.

But after the final whistle, Lions safety Brian Branch threw an open-handed punch at Travis Kelce's teammate, wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster.

Smith-Schuster, who ended up with a bloody nose, retaliated - and it all kicked off.

While Branch admitted he acted 'childish', he explained he felt frustrated because he thought the referees missed a penalty that should have been called when someone blocked him from behind.

"I did a little childish thing, but I'm tired of people doing stuff in between the play and refs don’t catch it," Branch said, as per the Detroit Free Press.

"They be trying to bully me out there and I don’t - I shouldn’t have did it. It was childish."

He added: "There was a lot of stuff, but I should've shown it between the whistle, not after the game and I apologize for that."

Smith-Schuster said of Branch in the locker room: "I know he's a better player than that, a better person. He'll learn from his mistakes," The Athletic's Jesse Newell reported.

Branch earned seven fines last season, as per the NFL, while this season he has tallied three already.

In 2025 so far, he has racked up $34,784 in fines for 'unsportsmanlike conduct infraction' and 'two unnecessary roughness violations', the NFL reports.

It's thought he'll be slapped with another fine and perhaps even a suspension for Sunday night's punch.

And he wouldn't be the only NFL player to be suspended for such behavior in recent years.

In 2021, Dallas Cowboys' Trysten Hill was banned from two games without pay when he hit Las Vegas Raiders offensive lineman John Simpson with an open-handed punch.

The Raiders won 36-33 in overtime on Thanksgiving Day.

Hill struck Simpson midfield with such force that his helmet was knocked from his head onto the pitch.

The defensive tackle was suspended after the NFL reviewed all footage from the game.

Jon Runyan, NFL vice president of football operations, ruled Hill's actions as 'violations of unnecessary roughness and unsportsmanlike conduct rules'.

As a result, Hill missed the Cowboys' next scheduled game against the New Orleans Saints.

After an appeal, his suspension was halved, meaning he returned in time for the December 12 stand-off against the Washington Football Team.

UNILAD has contacted the NFL and the Detroit Lions for comment.