Jimmy Garoppolo fined $7,000 for tossing ball into stands after 49ers’ win in Seattle

Here’s one pass San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo would probably like to have back.

Garoppolo, 28, was fined $7,017 by the NFL for throwing a football into the stands following the team’s Week 17 victory over Seattle to clinch the NFC West title and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, NBC Sports Bay Area reported.

Garoppolo threw the pigskin immediately after the Dec. 29 game into a crowd of Seahawks fans at CenturyLink Field. The six-year pro was trying to hand the ball to referee Tony Corrente, but he couldn’t find the official.

“I looked for the ref initially, but no one was around me,” Garoppolo told the outlet. “So I was like … I’m just going to throw this thing.”

As luck would have it, a 49ers fan who traveled from California to Seattle for the key divisional matchup ended up catching Garoppolo’s ill-advised pass.

Matt Pinelli, 19, of San Jose, said he was actually fidgeting with his phone at the time when he spotted the football headed toward his section.

“I was texting my friends, saying how awesome the game was,” Pinelli told the 49ers Insider Podcast. “And a bunch of Seahawks fans had their backs to the field, walking up. I looked up from my phone to see the ball just coming towards me, like a row over. So once I saw it, I got into the aisle and I had to push a Seahawks fan over and I jumped on the ball.”

Garoppolo didn’t learn that a diehard 49ers fan caught the pass until four days later, NBC Sports Bay Area reported.

“That’s a good throw then,” Garoppolo said, adding that he would autograph the ball for Pinelli.

Garoppolo plans to appeal the $7,017 fine, according to NFL Network reporter Mike Garafolo.

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