Officials to watch for Lynch gesture

The NFL's head of officiating told ESPN's Sal Paolantonio at Pro Bowl practice Saturday that the Seattle Seahawks have been warned that if running back Marshawn Lynch makes an obscene gesture after scoring a touchdown or at any other time during Super Bowl XLIX, the team will be penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct.

If he does it after scoring a touchdown, "That means they will kick off from the 20-yard line," Dean Blandino said.

Lynch has been fined twice for grabbing his crotch after scoring touchdowns, most recently when he was fined $20,000 for making the gesture after scoring a touchdown in the NFC Championship Game.

He had earlier been fined $11,050 for making the gesture on a backward dive into the end zone in a game against the Arizona Cardinals in December.

Lynch wasn't flagged either time for the gesture as the officials on the field did not see his actions. Any player taunting or making an obscene gesture would presumably be similarly penalized if the officials were aware, however.

Seattle wide receiver Chris Matthews was fined $11,050, per a league source, for doing the same gesture after Lynch's touchdown.

After learning about the fine, Lynch put this on Twitter:

Lynch also has been put on notice about avoiding the media this week.

An NFL official told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter that the league is considering fining Lynch "significantly more" than the $50,000 it has fined him in each of the past two seasons for not speaking to the media, something Lynch again declined to do after Sunday's NFC title game.

There would be increasing fines for each session Lynch misses, an NFL official said, with each fine being more than the two $50,000 fines already imposed and the upcoming fine that is expected soon.

At last January's Super Bowl media day in New Jersey, Lynch spent the session behind a barrier talking with teammates, autographing a football a young fan threw to him and speaking only to NFL Network's Deion Sanders and Armed Forces Radio. He ignored many other questions asked from a distance by reporters and left for a short while before returning.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.