Former Philadelphia Eagles center and current ESPN broadcaster Jason Kelce has never been shy about calling out things he thinks are ruining football. On a recent episode of “New Heights,” the podcast he co-hosts with his brother, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, he turned his frustration toward a tactic he says officials need to stop rewarding entirely: flopping.

“Whenever I see a guy’s arm go limp and fly in the air, I think it should be mandatory that you don’t call it,” Jason said on the podcast. “I’m over on the flops. Whenever the ball goes past them, they just throw it up to try and get a late holding call. That s*** is stupid. If you go limp wrist on a football field, you don’t get a call. That should be the NFL’s official stance. Limp wrist, no call. You’ve negated the call.”

Jason Kelce’s solution is pretty straightforward. If a player makes an exaggerated reaction to contact in an attempt to get a flag, he believes officials should simply refuse to reward it.

The NFL does not have a blanket rule covering players who exaggerate contact to draw a penalty. It does, however, have a specific rule for kicking plays. Under Rule 12, Section 3, a punter, placekicker or holder can be penalized for pretending to be roughed or run into by a defender. That is treated as unsportsmanlike conduct and results in a 15-yard penalty.

The issue of flopping has come up at the league level as well. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was asked about it in February 2025 and said the committee could revisit the subject.

“It depends a little on what your definition of flopping is,” Goodell said. “That has not been a significant issue for us. The competition committee has talked about that in the past. They probably could talk about it in the future.”

Travis has firsthand experience with this kind of controversy. During the AFC Championship Game against the Buffalo Bills, Jordan Phillips head-butted Kelce after quarterback Patrick Mahomes scored a rushing touchdown, sending the Chiefs tight end backward with his arms in the air. Phillips was flagged for unnecessary roughness, adding 15 yards to Kansas City’s extra-point attempt, while the play was later characterized as a flop by some observers.

Kelce was fined $11,255 for taunting safety Damar Hamlin, but the NFL did not fine him for flopping or simulating contact.

It was not the only Chiefs play that drew attention during that postseason. In the Divisional Round against the Houston Texans, Mahomes slowed down near the sideline before linebacker Henry To’oTo’o made contact with him. Mahomes then went to the ground with his arms raised, appearing to try to draw a penalty, but officials did not throw a flag.

ESPN broadcaster Troy Aikman criticized the move during the broadcast, saying:

“He’s trying to draw the penalty. Rather than just run out of bounds, he slows down. And that’s been the frustration, and I get it. I understand it. That’s been the frustration for these defensive players around the league.”

Aikman added that this had been a source of frustration for defensive players around the league. Mahomes later acknowledged that he “probably shouldn’t have done that,” referring specifically to the sideline play.

Earlier episodes saw Jason question the league’s fine against 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk for a celebration gesture, and call out a separate $524,281 week of total player fines as excessive. Flopping, in Jason’s view, deserves the opposite treatment: instead of fining players after the fact, he wants officials to simply stop handing out the penalty in the moment altogether.

For now, Jason’s idea remains just that, an idea. Whether the NFL ever takes that approach is still unclear, but Jason has clearly stated that he would like officials to stop rewarding what he sees as obvious attempts to draw penalties.