He likes orange: Bears WR Bennett foots bill for mounting fines

Chicago Bears wide receiver Earl Bennett likes his bright orange cleats. He likes them so much, he's willing to donate part of his paychecks to the NFL in order to keep wearing them during games.

Bennett was fined for wearing the shoes for a second straight game last Sunday against the Detroit Lions, and this time the fine was $10,000, double the $5,000 he was fined for wearing them in Week 9 against the Eagles.

Bennett told ESPN 1000 on Tuesday that the fines will continue to increase for future infractions, beginning with $15,000 this Sunday against San Diego, then $20,000 the next week.

"After that I've heard that they are going to call (a) delay of game and maybe kick me out of the game," Bennett said.

So why continue to don the orange cleats, which the league views as a violation of its uniform policy? The Bears wore their alternate orange uniforms against the Lions, and the fourth-year wideout from Vanderbilt was hoping that would make the matching shoes permissible. He was wrong.

"All week I didn't practice in them," Bennett said. "Usually the shoe I practice in I normally play in, but they were in my locker and I asked (his teammates) 'Should I wear the orange shoes again?' One of them was like 'Most definitely, I'll take care of it.' So that's how it went down."

Bennett wouldn't say for sure whether or not he would wear the shoes again.