Los Angeles Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman has been fined $26,739 by the NFL for a helmet-to-helmet hit on New Orleans Saints wide receiver Tommylee Lewis that was not flagged during the NFC Championship Game, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Friday.
League sources also told Schefter that Saints coach Sean Payton reached out to the league to see how it was going to publicly handle the controversial ending to regulation. Robey-Coleman appeared to run into Lewis, but was not flagged, before the ball arrived from Saints quarterback Drew Brees on third-and-10 at the Rams' 13-yard line with 1 minute, 45 seconds remaining in a 20-20 game.
Sources said Payton spoke to NFL head of officials Al Riveron, executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent and, eventually, commissioner Roger Goodell after calling all of them. Payton also texted with competition committee chairman Rich McKay, sources said.
Robey-Coleman said that he is going to pay his fine and not appeal it.
"I know I got fined today. I know everybody knows that. I'm gonna pay my fine," he said on Friday. "I know what happened. I'm gonna pay the fine. It was all good. And I'm moving on."
The hit for which Robey-Coleman was fined happened on that same play in the final two minutes of regulation.
A flag for pass interference would have given the Saints a first down, and New Orleans would have had a new set of downs and a chance to run time off the clock before attempting a short field goal with less than 20 seconds remaining.
The Rams won 26-23 in overtime to advance to Super Bowl LIII, where they will face the New England Patriots on Feb. 3 in Atlanta.
After the game, Robey-Coleman admitted he briefly thought the flag would come out but said that an official on the field told him he suspected the ball was tipped, which replays clearly showed was not the case.
No penalty was called, although Payton said Riveron told him the officials "blew the call" by not penalizing Robey-Coleman.
"It was simple. They blew the call. They said it should never have not been a call," Payton said after the game of the explanation he received. "They said not only was it interference, it was helmet-to-helmet. They just -- they couldn't believe it."
News of the fine also drew a reaction from Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas, who had been fined during the regular season for his re-creation of a Joe Horn touchdown celebration.
Man they fined me 30k for pulling out a phone tho 😂😂😂🤦🏾♂️💔
— Michael Thomas (@Cantguardmike) January 25, 2019
Cmon Roger do better 😂
— Michael Thomas (@Cantguardmike) January 25, 2019
The aftermath of the no-call has been significant, with players voicing their disbelief, lawsuits and petitions being filed, billboards posted in Atlanta, boycotts throughout the New Orleans area, and a letter from Louisiana's governor chastising Goodell.
Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said Wednesday that the team had not heard anything from the league office since Sunday night. Loomis also deferred to Saints owner Gayle Benson's recent statement, in which she vowed to "aggressively pursue changes in NFL policies to ensure no team and fan base is ever put in a similar position again."
Goodell also spoke to Benson, a source told Schefter.
On Friday, Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips was asked how Robey-Coleman was handling the situation surrounding the controversial no-call.
"I think he's going to the Super Bowl," Phillips said.
ESPN's Lindsey Thiry contributed to this report.