Colin Kaepernick Fined $10K For Wearing 'Dre' Headphones

Late last week, media outlets reported that San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was fined $10,000 for wearing "Beats By Dre" headphones during a recent post-game press conference.

Kaepernick was reportedly fined the money because the NFL has a policy that only Bose headphones and other electronic equipment can be worn by players while on television.

The 49ers quarterback took to Twitter to contest the fine, saying he wore the hot pink headphones as an homage to his grandmother, who survived breast cancer. "I support breast cancer awareness! My grandma is a survivor!....... *shrugs* some things are now important! #IDontGetTired #WhoDoYouLove #Se7enPounds."

The league also released a statement addressing the controversy, saying: "The NFL has longstanding policies that prohibit branded exposure on-field or during interviews unless authorized by the league."

These policies date back to the early 1990s and continue today. They are the NFL's policies -- not one of the league's sponsors, Bose, in this case. Bose is not involved in the enforcement of our policies. This is true for others on-field."

Despite Kaepernick's recent fine, Panthers quarterback Cam Newton recently wore Beats By Dre headphones while warming up for his game against Cincinnati this past Sunday.

Although the NFL policy says players cannot wear Beats By Dre headphones when they could possibly be on camera, ESPN reports that players can "wear headphones with competing logos off the bus, into the stadium and on the field for warmups before they get into uniform."