TAMPA, Fla. -- Carolina Panthers cornerback Josh Norman was under the impression he had the league's approval to celebrate a touchdown by pretending to ride the football like a horse.

Then came the penalty flag.

The Panthers were penalized 15 yards in the first quarter of Sunday's 37-23 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after Norman celebrated a 46-yard interception return for a touchdown with his giddy-up move.

Norman said he asked former Tampa Bay linebacker Derrick Brooks, a fines appeals officer appointed jointly by the NFL and NFLPA, prior to the game if the celebration was legal.

"He said I was fine," said Norman, who on Thursday was named the NFC's defensive player of the month. "If it wasn't, I wouldn't have never did it."

Josh Norman was flagged in Sunday's win for a touchdown celebration that violates an NFL rule about using objects as a celebration prop. He said he was told by appeals officer and former Bucs linebacker Derrick Brooks that the move is legal. AP Photo/Brian Blanco

Norman was penalized under Rule 12, Section 3 of the league's unsportsmanlike conduct code that prohibits "using the ball or any other object including pylons, goal posts, or crossbars, as a prop."

Norman referred to Brooks as a league official, which Brooks officially is not.

Now, Norman could be subject to a fine from the league for the second time in four games. He was fined $8,681 for taunting when he waved to Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles as he returned an interception for a touchdown in the season opener.

Following that score, Norman also did his giddy-up move with a dismount but wasn't as demonstrative in holding the football between his legs like a saddle. There was no penalty called after that play.

Norman came up with the idea to celebrate this way because he raises horses. He said the taunting fine in the opener cost more than the first horse he purchased, which he bought for $5,000.

"Normally, they go for much higher," he said. "I was lucky to get that deal."

Norman will be lucky if he's not fined for Sunday's ride that came after he became the first NFL player in five years to return two interceptions for touchdowns in the first four games.

"Yeah, it's kind of crazy," Norman said. "Guess we're just going to have to keep putting more money in our savings account."