Eagles' Jalen Carter loses $57,222 for spitting on Cowboys QB Dak Prescott

Jalen Carter's penalty for spitting on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott sends a message to the rest of the league.

Carter is losing $57,222 for the infraction, the equivalent of his game check for Week 1 because the NFL considers the punishment a one-game suspension with time served. The Pro Bowl defensive tackle didn't play a snap after he was ejected from Philadelphia’s 24-20 victory over Dallas on Thursday.

Carter is expected to be on the field when the Eagles face the Kansas City Chiefs in a Super Bowl rematch on Sunday. The team could impose its own discipline such as benching Carter for the first play, the first series or longer.

The NFL's distinction of a one-game suspension sets a precedent and makes it clear to players that spitting on an opponent will result in similar discipline. The NFL Players Association could view the discipline as a fine for future arguments.

Carter isn't appealing his penalty.

"I’m going to keep everything that I do with him private, regardless of if you see it on Sunday or not,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said Monday about his best defensive player. “Everything, every conversation, whether it’s a personal conversation, a disciplinary thing, all those things will always be handled privately. I just think that’s the way to go about doing team business and when you’re doing things with a football team.”

Carter apologized for being disqualified from the game. Players have been fined for spitting on opponents in the past, but there wasn't a case where anyone was suspended for doing it.

Until now — technically.

Carter’s infraction came moments after the franchise’s second Super Bowl banner was raised. He was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct before the first snap from scrimmage while trainers were attending to an injury on the kickoff.

Carter approached Prescott after the quarterback had stepped up in the huddle, stood between two of his linemen and spit on the ground in the direction of Carter, who was several yards away.

The two players exchanged words before Carter spit on Prescott’s jersey and then backed away. Prescott quickly motioned to a nearby official, who threw the flag.

It was an easy call after the league made it clear that enforcing sportsmanship would be a point of emphasis this season.

“It was a mistake that happened on my side. It won’t happen again,” Carter said after the game. “I feel bad for just my teammates and fans out there. I’m doing it for them. I’m doing it for my family, also. But the fans, they showed the most love.”

Prescott said he simply spit straight ahead, explaining he does so often during games. His saliva landed near Carter, which raised his ire.

Prescott said Carter asked: “You trying to spit on me?”

“I wouldn’t spit on somebody. I’m definitely not trying to spit on you. We’re about to play a game,” Prescott said.

Carter has previously demonstrated a pattern of poor discipline.

He was penalized three times for unnecessary roughness last season and was also benched to start a game in a disciplinary move by Sirianni. One of Carter’s penalties in a game against Pittsburgh last December led to Sirianni having a heated conversation with defensive line coach Clint Hurtt, who stood in front of the player on the sideline when the coach approached him.

Carter also was fined $17,445 for an open-handed blow to the head of Washington Commanders center Tyler Biadasz in the NFC championship game.

The Eagles were only in position to draft Carter in 2023 with the ninth overall pick because several teams passed him up due to his role in a fatal car crash in college that killed a teammate, offensive lineman Devin Willock, and a Georgia recruiting staffer, Chandler LeCroy.

Carter received one year of probation and was fined $1,000 after pleading no contest to misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and racing related to the wreck.

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Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter (98) walks off the field after being disqualified for unsportsman like conduct before an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter walks off the field after being disqualified for unsportsman like conduct before an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

BEIJING (AP) — Breaking with the United States, Canada has agreed to cut its 100% tariff on Chinese electric cars in return for lower tariffs on Canadian farm products, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday.

Carney made the announcement after two days of meetings with Chinese leaders. He said there would be an initial cap of 49,000 vehicles on Chinese EV exports to Canada, growing to 70,000 over five years. China will reduce its tariff on canola seeds, a major Canadian export, from about 84% to about 15%, he told reporters.

“It has been a historic and productive two days,” Carney said, speaking outside against the backdrop of a traditional pavilion and a frozen pond at a Beijing park. “We have to understand the differences between Canada and other countries, and focus our efforts to work together where we’re aligned.”

Earlier Friday, he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping pledged to improve relations between their two nations after years of acrimony.

Xi told Carney in a meeting at the Great Hall of the People that he is willing to continue working to improve ties, noting that talks have been underway on restoring and restarting cooperation since the two held an initial meeting in October on the sidelines of a regional economic conference in South Korea.

“It can be said that our meeting last year opened a new chapter in turning China–Canada relations toward improvement,” China's top leader said.

Carney, the first Canadian prime minister to visit China in eight years, said better relations would help improve a global governance system that he described as “under great strain.”

He called for a new relationship “adapted to new global realities” and cooperation in agriculture, energy and finance.

Those new realities reflect in large part the so-called America-first approach of U.S. President Donald Trump. The tariffs he has imposed have hit both the Canadian and Chinese economies. Carney, who has met with several leading Chinese companies in Beijing, said ahead of his trip that his government is focused on building an economy less reliant on the U.S. at what he called “a time of global trade disruption.”

A Canadian business owner in China called Carney's visit game-changing, saying it re-establishes dialogue, respect and a framework between the two nations.

“These three things we didn’t have,” said Jacob Cooke, the CEO of WPIC Marketing + Technologies, which helps exporters navigate the Chinese market. “The parties were not talking for years.”

Canada had followed the U.S. in putting tariffs of 100% on EVs from China and 25% on steel and aluminum under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Carney’s predecessor.

China responded by imposing duties of 100% on Canadian canola oil and meal and 25% on pork and seafood. It added a 75.8% tariff on canola seeds last August. Collectively, the import taxes effectively closed the Chinese market to Canadian canola, an industry group has said. Overall, China's imports from Canada fell 10.4% last year to $41.7 billion, according to Chinese trade data.

China is hoping Trump’s pressure tactics on allies such as Canada will drive them to pursue a foreign policy that is less aligned with the United States. The U.S. president has suggested Canada could become America's 51st state.

Carney departs China on Saturday and visits Qatar on Sunday before attending the annual gathering of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland next week. He will meet business leaders and investors in Qatar to promote trade and investment, his office said.

Associated Press business writer Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong contributed to this report.

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, center, arrives to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, Pool)

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)