49ers Nick Bosa fined for wearing 'MAGA' hat in postgame interview despite appearing on-screen for less than 5 seconds

The NFL has fined San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa for sporting a "Make America Great Again" hat during a post-game interview.

Following a 30-24 win over the Dallas Cowboys on October 27, Bosa crashed an interview on NBC's "Sunday Night Football" where several of his teammates were speaking to network reporter Melissa Stark.

Bosa ran up behind quarterback Brock Purdy, pointed to his white and gold "MAGA" hat, and ran off-screen. The entire incident lasted less than five seconds.

The star player has since been fined $11,255 by the NFL over the political message, reportedly violating league rules. Players are prohibited from displaying personal messages or political messages of any kind on game day, according to NFL rules.

The NFL rulebook states the league "will not grant permission" for any player to wear messages that "relate to political activities or causes, other non-football events, causes or campaigns, or charitable causes or campaigns."

This applies to the entirety of a "game day that a player is visible to the stadium and television audience (including in pregame warm-ups, in the bench area, and during postgame interviews in the locker room or on the field."

'It was well worth it.'

After wearing the hat, Bosa was asked about it during a post-game press conference:

"It appeared to be a political statement," a reporter said to the 27-year-old.

Bosa simply replied, "I'm not gonna talk too much about it, but I think it's an important time."

About a week later, the day after Donald Trump won the presidency, reporters caught up with Bosa again in the locker room and asked him about a possible fine before it was handed down by the league.

"Nick, you could be fined for your hat; what are your thoughts on that?" a reporter asked.

Bosa paused, then said, "I don't know; I haven't got one yet. If it comes, it comes."

"Did you feel that going in, that that could be a possibility?" a second reporter asked.

"It was well worth it," the 49er replied. "I don't think my position on speaking about it is going to change; clearly the nation spoke, and we got what we got," he added.

Another media member questioned Bosa about the election and if he had watched any coverage. Bosa noted that he had "fun" and a "good time" watching before adding that he indeed "stayed up" to watch the results.

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