Rugby star offers to step in and pay fine after George Kittle hints at unique touchdown celebration

San Francisco 49ers superstar George Kittle plans to pay tribute to rugby league’s Jai Arrow, but it will come at a cost.

Luckily for Kittle, Arrow, who revealed he had been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease earlier this year, confirmed he would ‘happily’ stump up the cash for any fines accrued by the 49ers tight end.

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Following Arrow’s diagnosis, stars from all over the sporting landscape in Australia have celebrated by performing a bow-and-arrow celebration in honour of the former South Sydney Rabbitohs forward.

It culminated in what became known as ‘Jai July’, where sponsors donated significant funds for every try scored while NRL and NRLW players celebrated with an arrow gesture.

What has George Kittle said about performing the arrow celebration?

And Kittle, who will play in the first-ever NFL game on Aussie shores when the 49ers take on the Los Angeles Rams at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, was asked whether he would recreate the iconic celebration should he score a touchdown.

“I would love to, but I’d get fined and penalised for it because it’s a weapon,” Kittle said.

“Trust me, I’ve thought about it.”

What are the NFL’s rules regarding celebrations?

NFL rules prohibit players from performing an on-field celebration that simulates weapons, shooting or violent gestures.

Players can be fined up to $15,000 (£8,000) should they fall foul of the league’s rules.

But Arrow assured Kittle he would have nothing to worry about as he wrote on Instagram: “I’ll happily pay the fine.”

Arrow, who retired from rugby league on 98 appearances for the Rabbitohs, recently received special permission from the NRL to feature two more times before he bowed out of the sport for good.

The 31-year-old brought up the century for the Bunnies in highly emotional scenes last week as he took to the field for the opening kick-off before being substituted.

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Even though Arrow’s 100th appearance for the Rabbitohs came at the home of their bitter rivals, the Sydney Roosters, both sets of fans gave a standing ovation as the teams walked out to ‘Stand By Me’.

Arrow then exited the field and burst into tears in the arms of Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett, who came down from the coaches’ box to oversee the substitution.

With Arrow’s rugby league career now over, he will likely be a keen observer of the 49ers’ showdown against the Rams at the MCG.

A crowd of nearly 100,000 is expected to pack out the iconic venue for the clash where the Rams will look to rubber-stamp their status as a Super Bowl favourite.

As for the 49ers, the mere presence of Kittle is a significant boost given he tore his Achilles in last season’s wildcard playoff win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

It was anticipated the injury would force Kittle to begin the season on San Francisco’s PUP (physically unable to perform) list, which would have forced him out of the team’s opening four games of the season.

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But Kittle is fit and firing just eight months later, ensuring superstar QB Brock Purdy has one of his major offensive weapons available to throw to.

The Rams and 49ers’ historic season opener kicks off on Friday at 1:35am BST.