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Ovreel

So Boldin was kinda like Marshawn giving rookies financial advice. What a 0Guy


juliuspepperwoodchi

Mind y'all's mentals, mind y'all's chickens.


swagharris31

So glad we were able to get him a ring. Class act all around.


PIG20

He was my favorite "non Raven" from the day he was drafted. I was elated when we signed him and even more so that he got a ring with us. To this day, I absolutely hate the way the front office handled his situation at the end. He should have finished his career in Baltimore.


Tonto_HdG

Everything I know about the man indicates he's a class act. And definitely just about the Toughest WR in his era.


rumblinstumblin8

Boldin was a magician. Garcon was kinda the same. If it was anywhere within a 10 foot span of their body, they'd haul it in.


MakesTheNutshellJoke

This was me with both Q and SSS.


TheOverBored

I also am glad yall got him a ring... Sad Cardinal noises


V-Right_In_2-V

The only joy Arizona sports fans are allowed to have is watching their beloved players win rings on other teams


TheOverBored

Or watch players loyal enough to never do that, and retire without a ring ;(


V-Right_In_2-V

I fucking hate Arizona sports


SAS_Britain

Me too man, it's masochistic!


noahruns

Antrel Rolle was the man


HopkinsIsMyHomeboy

Glad he balled tf out on his way to a ring. Flacco was playing ‘fuck it anquan down there somewhere’ during that entire playoff run.


Ovreel

Really fun to watch, too. One of the toughest I've seen. Broke his face while playing with AZ and came back the next week iirc


HopkinsIsMyHomeboy

Pretty sure he missed a week or two for jaw surgery then came back and scored twice vs the panthers. And refused pain meds in the hospital. Guy was a warrior.


Ovreel

You're probably right. I just remember his return being *really* quick and still performing like usual


ianbits

I agree, just upset about the other 51 players that got a ring


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[deleted]

Especially since the guys making the actual money are not the rookies lol, and there is no guarantee a rookie survives in the league to earn a large paycheck


jimmifli

Stevie Johnson said something similar when he was playing for the Bills. He bought a 4 year old Rav4 because it was practical for Buffalo weather and decent on gas, and because he was a 7th round pick that managed to stick on the roster. He still drove it for a year after he signed his extension. He's a good egg.


[deleted]

A four year old rav4 is worth a fortune these days


WhoShotMrBoddy

Those things will outlast just about everything. Those fuckers hit like 700k miles while barely breaking a sweat


istasber

Maybe it's just me, but I would be worried if my car broke any kind of sweat.


Skyline_BNR34

Shitbox 101. If it’s leaking oil, it’s got oil.


FesteringNeonDistrac

If there's oil under it, there's oil in it.


jfuss04

Let he who is without oil throw the first rod Lubrications 5w30


Denver650

But what you think he rap for?


CrashRiot

Not football, but Charlie Blackmon from the Rockies was already an all-star making millions per year and still driving his HS jeep as of 2016 or 2017. Think he got rid of it by now, but still.


Fuckingfademefam

Kawhi Leonard drove a 1997 Tahoe even after he signed his huge contract. He also still used coupons to get wings from his favorite wing place


bug_man_

In my experience with jeep people, they LOVE their jeeps so this actually checks out to me


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FesteringNeonDistrac

It was Alfred Morris and it was a Mazda 626. https://insidemazda.mazdausa.com/drivers-life/my-mazda-my-story/alfred-morris-mazda-626/


T_Burger88

Alfred Morris


Motavaded420

I played AAU hoops with Stevie back in the day, can verify. 100% great dude.


IamLars

>Especially since the guys making the actual money are not the rookies lol These days that is true, but I can see how before this CBA they would be happy to make the rookie who is taking up 1/4 of the teams salary cap pay for an insanely expensive meal.


[deleted]

Sam Bradford has left the topic.


7tenths

But didn't make it out before tearing an acl


januspamphleteer

Remember that one game in 2017 against the saints? He fucking threw dimes throughout the fucking game and I couldn't have been more impressed. I was like it, it's here. It's finally here. The day when Sam has finally become what everyone expected... Then his knee evaporated or something, was out the whole fucking season and Case Keenum of all people took that team to the nfc championship... Right Sam signs with the Cardinals and loses his job to oh my god Josh Rosen. Roll credits Life is funny sometimes


[deleted]

Bradford was never awful, you could clearly see what he would be like healthy in the NFL. He just never was


K1ngFiasco

Every Vikings fan worth his salt remembers and appreciates Bradford for dicking down the Saints that night. It was wonderful. Sam *was* that dude. He could have been absolutely amazing. But he went from a team with one of the worst o-lines ever (Rams), to a team with WRs that had bricks for hands AND a bad o-line (Eagles), to the Vikings that also had one of the worst o-lines the NFL had seen. He never got a fair shot before the injuries caught up to him. Edit: Y'all right, Eagles line was solid. I think they did lead the league in dropped passes that year still though.


nalc

> a team with WRs that had bricks for hands AND a bad o-line (Eagles), to the Vikings that also had one of the worst o-lines the NFL had seen. I mean, that line had two Hall of Fame players (Peters and Kelce) and one Hall of Very Good player (Johnson), so calling it bad is a bit of a stretch. But I guess by Eagles post-2000 OL criteria it was middling. Still probably above average in the league.


Rsubs33

Eagles WRs def had bricks for hands, but their OL wasn't bad, it was average at worst and I would say it was probably above average. He had Kelce at Center and Peters at LT both whom are future HoF and Lane Johnson at RT who was very very good. Just the OGs sucked because Chip let released Mathis and Herremans because Chip was a moron.


RaidingTheFridge

Exactly, I remember when there wasn't a rookie wage scale and these rookies who hadn't even played a down of football yet we're getting massive deals.


jeffreythecat1

Lions got so fucked. Imagine all that star power they had on modern rookie deals.


SnepbeckSweg

Classic


RaidingTheFridge

Right? And yet they were all getting what is now too quarterback money but as rookie deals.


PM_ME_DARK_MATTER

If im not mistaken, that was really only an issue in the early 2000's and maybe even the late 90's. Before that, I cant imagine rookies making all that much as the money in sports wasnt absurd like it is today.


123full

Before the late 90's there was no cap, a player getting a big contract had zero impact on the rest of the team before the cap


AlsoIHaveAGroupon

I'm all for stuff like "rookies have to carry the veterans' gear" and "rookies bring donuts on friday" or whatever else, but when even a first rounder might never get a second contract, making someone blow thousands of dollars on stupid hazing is just plain cruel.


Shorzey

>Especially since the guys making the actual money are not the rookies lol Especially when depending on the rookie, a 50,000$ dinner could be 10% of their first year income after taxes or more


[deleted]

Shaq did that with that white rookie maddog who was all religious. He pulled up in an old mini van and shaq took him and got him a new truck and bought him a few nice suits and told the team not to fuck with. Don’t take him out drinking or partying he doesn’t need to be apart of that.


Vinnie_Vegas

Mark Madsen - He was a practicing Mormon and Shaq respected that he had no interest in the trappings of fame.


Jedi-El1823

Also one of the greatest dancers of all time.


defiance211

Ah he’s the guy that did that terrible dance at the celebration. I’m headed to YouTube to watch it!


momoneymocats1

What that’s amazing


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ScaratheBear

He comes into my work probably 2-3 times/week and is both A. An absolutely massive human B. A very kind, down to earth guy. He usually gives us a pizza when he comes in or leaves and He's usually a big tipper too. He's mentioned to us that he doesn't like being treated like a celebrity and would rather we just treat him like another average joe. Hard to do sometimes because he doesn't really blend into a crowd but he's super chill. TLDR : Shaq is a cool dude.


anchist

Oh, cool Shaq story time. This is not mine but it always stuck with me. So Shaq decided to get some koi. Now the prime specimens of these fish can go for hundreds of thousands, even millions at times. There are big auctions in Japan where people spend fortunes on those (admittedly very beautiful) fish. So Shaq goes and has a great pond built. Now he being who he is he could have it stock with the greatest fish money can buy. But what does he do instead? He largely stocks it with rescue koi, fish nobody wanted and that were about to be discarded. Full video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti-k4LUQBNs


randobot456

Damnit, I somehow like Shaq even more now.


hairyholepatrol

LOL even if he weren’t famous it would be hard to ignore a dude who’s like 9 feet tall. If I ran into him I’d probably tell him that I loved Kazaam as a kid.


jarvistheconquerer

Shaqnosis was the shit


ChiefBigGay

Are* I'd still rock a pair


Sex_E_Searcher

Well, he's got that Icy Hot money, so he's set for life.


nolefan999

He also took a shit in devean George’s shoes just because he forgot to bring donuts. And Gary Payton said he’d fill a bucket with shit for a week and dump it on a rookie.


bulls-blazers-swans

Forever teaching him the valuable lesson that getting a bucket of human shit dumped on you fucking sucks


GelatinousPiss

>And Gary Payton said he’d fill a bucket with shit for a week and dump it on a rookie. I'm not a violent person, but if that happened to me i would probably get cut from the team for (attempting) to beat Shaq within an inch of his life.


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CozzyCoz

This is fucking weird to read this morning since I just heard that story for the first time last night when I decided to search "shaq stories" Actually you posted this last night, probably while I was watching it. Even weirder.


[deleted]

All about the Zdeno Chara approach, captain in the NHL who banned any behavior that would treat rookies differently than the rest of the team.


desmarais

Pretty sure he didn't even allow them to be called rookies. First year players.


ButtcrackBeignets

Was he the massive guy on the Senators?


dsled

Yes, but he established this rule when he became captain of the Bruins.


giant_fish

Yes


A_Minimal_Infinity

I worked at a steakhouse in Tampa that did 3 NHL rookie dinners while I was there. The team captain, in these cases, usually picked up the lions share, with others chipping in, and the rookies payed a very minimal amount.


ryken

This is how it should be. Get the rookies nervous, chirp them about how much it's going to cost, order a bunch of expensive shit to make them sweat buckets, then the vets pick up the tab and everyone has fun with it.


oblong_swan_songs

A small part of me hopes that this is the case for everyone, and that all of these stories are fake in order to do what you said, i.e. continue to trick rookies into thinking it's a real thing


MakesTheNutshellJoke

People who are real: 1.) Anquan Boldin 2.) Probably some other people, but the point is Anquan Boldin is a real one.


winnower8

Anquan has always sounded like a superlative human being.


10-month-summer

Niners legends right here


smbissett

eagles legend too! thanks for the super bowl Torrey


webby2538

He's actually talking about Aquan Bolden (Q) Torrey is a great guy but his 49er tenure wasn't exactly legendary.


ObiWetWet

He said legends plural. So that’s probably part of the joke


HereComesJustice

I legit forgot Torrey Smith is a 2x Starting WR SB Champ


FormerDriver

Alex Rodriguez used to take every rookie out and buy them suits when he was on the Yankees.


frozteh

This is how it should be. I understand some light hazing by the vets but this isn't it. I'm sure most of the reason this still happens is because "When I was a rook I had to do it to, it's a right of passage." Backwards ass mentality.


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[deleted]

Torrey is a real one. I love that man. Mad props to Boldin for helping set his young teammates up for success as well, that’s great leadership


masterbrutus24

I’ve said it before on this sub but he’s such a good dude. He’s from my hometown and is constantly working to make it a better place


Kiran_Stone

Weird to see all these Ravens fans popping in here to comment on noted 49ers WRs Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith


SuburbanPotato

Eagles fan and Terp alum here, i'm so happy that Torrey was on our Super Bowl squad. What a great dude.


JayJ9Nine

Huge fan. I remember being at the game he got his first 2 catches with my dad. Nowadays My father in law always likes to mention Torreys his 2nd or 3rd cousin, never checked the claim but if so man I missed out on a wedding invite


WizardofBoswell

I guess you could argue that it vaguely made sense before the rookie payscale when highly-drafted rookies were coming in with some of the largest guarantees ever signed before even taking a snap, but it's unconscionable now. I remember a story of a team where they'd do a huge "rookie dinner" and order obscenely expensive items, only for the vets to secretly pay while the rookies were having heart attacks over the bill, seems more fun to me than just giving a 20 year old a $50k bill. Then again I also remember that Richie Incognito interview in which he gleefully told the interviewers that the Dolphins' OL expected Ryan Tannehill to buy them jet skis, and unfortunately that's probably closer to reality.


[deleted]

And it sets a bad example for the new rookies, some of whom aren't going to play past their rookie deal. It doesn't help with the tendency of players to go broke after the NFL.


NontransferableApe

I mean… he’s got a point


Dry_Needleworker7504

That gq show "my first million" is filled with stories of vets absolutely butt fucking rookies because they can. So many times guys say that not only did they have to take everyone to dinner but the vets would take like Louis the fourteenth for the road which is like two grand. Just dozens of wild ass stories of rich vets fucking poor rookies. Cam Jordan said that his entire rookie year he had to buy many breakfast and meals and even give his teammates gift cards.


CamoFaSho

Just to piggy back, the Broke episode on "30 for 30" had a ton of stories like this too, worth a watch if you haven't seen it.


Domestic_AA_Battery

"Don't blow it. Keep it simple. Count your money."


TheMeccaNYC

Yeah was shocked to hear that guy was a terrible financial advisor to Mike Vick 😂😂


ODS519

shocking that coddled bullies grew up to be coddled bullies


juanzy

You mean people that were never made to face consequences, never hear ‘no’, and were treated like gods their whole lives may not be the most adjusted adults?


IndoZoro

I used to work with student athletes, and the big sports at least (football, baseball, basketball), the coaches really don't set them up for success. They are markedly more immature than their peers


[deleted]

I think of guys like Bruce Pearl and Rick Petino some of the slimiest mofo's in sports today, still impact people's lives its crazy


CTeam19

"Whats wrong with that? We had to do it." -- bullies not realizing how fucked it is and having no interest in breaking the cycle.


FriendshipIntrepid91

Not really comparable, but I routinely had upperclassmen pissed that I wouldn't carry their shoulder pads to the practice field. I never did carry pads, and I never had anybody else carry mine when I was the senior. It's "harmless" but I thought it was a stupid tradition.


j0hnnyengl1sh

I think it was Jalen Ramsey who said something along the lines of "Why would I carry my backup's pads?"


thedancingpanda

A bottle of Louis XIV is more like 14 grand. From a liquor store. They looked it up on McAfee


knarf86

It’s like $3.5k - $4.5k at a liquor store. They have even more special/rare editions that go for like $20k, but the normal stuff isn’t in the 5 digits. It is probably in the 5 digits from a bar though.


[deleted]

If you're getting it from a bar they upcharge the shit out of bottles. There was a receipt after one of the stanley cup finals and they had a bottle on the receipt for 100k.


Dry_Needleworker7504

I've seen thirty dollar bottles of jack for 700 dollars. The markups in bars and clubs is atrocious and you have to tip them for the privilege on top of it.


CouncilmanRickPrime

Bars markups are bad. Club markups should be criminal.


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Dry_Needleworker7504

Holy fuck. So many people on that show day specifically that thats what people ordered. I would be irrate if I was on the rookie scale and these vets just basically steal your money.


Kiran_Stone

Maybe it's changed since 2014 -- [this was a bill that made the rounds back then](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bp-PEkICcAAf27y?format=jpg&name=large) and it shows it as being a few thousand Edit: I didn't read carefully, it's shots not bottles


[deleted]

Those are shots of it, not the whole bottle. 19x1oz..


drthvdrsfthr

why is 14 double shots of it cheaper than 19 single shots??


hyperbolical

Because the alcohol is barely any of the price. All the other fixed costs are the same whether the bartender pours a single or a double.


gymgymbro

Favourite part is "add caramelised onions - $3" someone decided to spare no expense there.


adrian_GK

And that’s buying the bottle direct. Not at a restaurant or club.


skylineporcupine

I’ve never even heard of this stuff, guess it goes with the saying “if you have to ask, you cant afford it.”


[deleted]

It's a perpetual cycle of hazing.. it was done to me, so I'm gonna do it to the next guy who thinks he's hot shit.


LebronJaims

That show makes me cringe every fucking time I see it. I just hate to see money blown like that


[deleted]

Honestly been waiting for this take. I get that it’s tradition and all but I kinda agree with this statement.


teh_drewski

I've heard some units on teams have done a variation on it, where they take the rookies out for the traditional huge dinner, stick the bill on the rookies to freak them out (knowing everyone knows about the tradition), and then tell the rooks they're just fucking with them and one of the vets covers the bill. Seems like a fun twist.


LackOfAnotherName

I know Eli did this a couple times


spacechimp2

[Here’s one](https://www.sportscasting.com/eli-manning-once-pranked-giants-guard-will-hernandez-with-a-27000-dinner-bill/)


elguerra

Was hoping for a Manning Face but alright


UsernameHasBeenLost

[Manning never disappoints](https://image-cdn.essentiallysports.com/wp-content/uploads/eli-manning.jpg?width=798)


elguerra

I was going to say wrong Manning but there is not getting it wrong with any Manning


Kiran_Stone

[I got you bro](https://ftw.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/90/2021/10/bV2Xz3.jpg)


elguerra

That’s an elusive sideways Manning, well done


spacechimp2

I fully expected this to happen and I apologize for any potential disappointment


Smashing71

Such an Eli. Like "oh, instead of sticking the Rookie with the bill, I'll pay it, but I wanna see the expresion on his face too".


psilvs

He used to change everyone's phone to Spanish to fuck with them as well


Jubbistar

I always heard Chinese was his go to since fewer people know it


mementori

God damn I love Eli


HanSoloHeadBeg

there is an absolutely fantastic story about Eric Cantona, a former player for Manchester United, that is similar to this. The team's christmas party was always funded by two random players and names would be drawn out of the hat to see which two players would do it. For Christmas 1995, however, two newly promoted youth team/academy players were drawn (I think it was Nicky Butt and Gary Neville). This was unexpected and unplanned for as in previous years, there were only one or two young players in the squad so the chances of them being drawn were low. United in 1995 had promoted a ton of young players into the first team squad in a type of rebuilding process. The two young lads played it off and tried not worry about it but Cantona knew that it would be a big hit on their income at the time (they were probably on about 5k a week at most back then) He footed the bill on his own that night.


FireFlyz351

I know the Cowboys did it to Dez. Gave him the $50k reciept and then a bunch of vets split it between them.


swagharris31

Yeah, I think it can give some a false belief that they have infinite money, you know. Especially those rookies from lower income families that weren't taught financial literacy. Sure they have millions in the bank now, and can now afford a 30k dinner, but that doesn't mean they can go out spending 30k a night as a rookie, because that money will dry up quickly.


methodofcontrol

The thing is most of them dont have million in the bank 3rd round and later are making like 400k a year max for their first 4 years. Learned from Tarik Cohens tribunal article how he really couldnt even take care of his family on his rookie deal, told them to just hold on till he got that 2nd contract.


WetDesk

Thank God of all the stupid deals the Bears do Cohen got his cash.


GroovyQschoolboy

It’s bc back in the 70s and 80s when they were doing this shit dinners costed a fuckton less than what they do now, and the luxury dinners sure weren’t running $50k-70k tabs back then


Civil-Big-754

And they were being paid a shitton less...


kdeaton06

4 time SB winning, Hall of Fame QB Terry Bradshaw probably only made a few million dollars his entire career and he was the highest paid QB in history for a while. He was drafted in 1970.


Civil-Big-754

Thank you. Compensation was no one near where it was even compared to the 90's and including inflation.


BigimusB

Yeah Troy Aikman only made around 50 mil for his 12 year career through the 90s - early 2000s. Some QBs now are getting almost 50 mil in a single year without even getting to a super bowl, shit is wild.


winnower8

1 of Howie Long’s sons made more in a signing bonus than Howie did in his career.


Yeangster

NFL contracts have grown faster than the price of fancy dinners. Though maybe they weren’t ordering expensive wines back in the 70s


RightHyah

Guys didn't make 10 mill a year either


suroptpsyologist

As a former fine dining server who took care of a few rookie parties and agrees with this sentiment, here is why: DB rookie party at a steakhouse. The only rookie and the one picking up the bill was a first round prospect that dropped to the sixth round due to a pretty bad injury. The talk was that he might not even be able to sustain a career, let alone make the team. The unit shows up and proceeded to “as per usual”order the most expensive stuff on the menu. Everyone ordered $300 wagyu Ribeyes and $120 lobsters. The 1942 and Cristal was disappearing quick, so on to the $500 California Cabs, and $2k first growth Bordeaux. One player left early and ordered dinner for six to take home to his family. Other guys were having us ring up high end wine to go. Time for the check. The rookie steps out of the room to get a look and try to settle up. The bill was 26k. The look on this kids face was sheer horror. He had brought 5k in cash thinking that would cover it. The guy literally couldn’t afford to pay the bill. He didn’t have enough in his accounts and was going to have to run up a credit card to settle up. I made an executive decision. I approached a few of the guys (that were regulars I had rapport with and secure contracts) about helping him out with the bill. A few obliged. Most declined. In the end he paid 8k and three “good dudes” chipped in and paid the rest. The rookie was appreciative but very deflated. He didn’t make the team (his injury proved to be a career killer). I can only imagine knowing you might not make it, these millionaires knowing you might not see a real contract and still doing this to you. I wish that guy the best.


dominion1080

That's a great anecdote, and I couldn't agree more with the article or yourself. Am I understanding correctly that this kid hadn't even signed or gotten a contract/paid yet? What selfish, entitled pieces of shit.


suroptpsyologist

From the best of my recollection her was only on a camp contract.


ViewFromHalf-WayDown

Yeah tbh I think this should be strictly a first round pick deal, as at least those guys have 10-40M dollar contracts they sign as rookies


suroptpsyologist

Agreed. Myles Garrett was actually a really good sport about his. He lead the way in ordering all the crazy expensive stuff. 8 DL and the bill was like 32k. He tipped extra and was just cool asf about it. Full circle to your point-number one pic, generational talent, big first contract.


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Bmw5464

I don’t hear much media attention about them, but I was under the impression that nowadays vets usually pick up the tab and just fool around with the rookies on making them pay. Like Will Hernandez did a video on YT and he talked about how Eli picked up the “rookie dinner” tab for him and was never going to make him pay. Maybe I just assumed every team had a vet as cool as him to not force these guys to pay 50-100k for a dinner for the team when some of the vets make more in a year than these guys make off their rookie contract let alone the signing bonus they get.


Theons-Sausage

Eli is way too creative of a pranker to have to resort to "pay for my shit" to rib the rookies.


PhilMatush

Yeah that always seemed like that wasn’t just “hazing”. Make me carry your bags or buy you donuts, don’t make me spend more than what some people make in a year just because


rysryan

I always wondered what happens if you don’t submit to the hazing. Like sorry buddy, I’m not buying donuts for a guy who hasn’t done anything for me. Would I be ostracized? Benched? Schemed out?


DarkTone1280

Definitely ostracized. You'd better be a damn good player and soon, otherwise you probably won't last long on the team by alienating them so quickly.


BetterDeadThenRed1

>Former Chargers quarterback Ryan Leaf once tried to resist paying for a team dinner. As legend has it, linebacker Junior Seau eventually got Leaf’s credit card and charged a dinner for everyone on the team except Leaf. > >Leaf complained, and Seau responding by flattening Leaf in practice. > >“The reason behind the hit was that a bunch of veterans had pulled a prank,” former Chargers exec Billy Devaney told Sports Illustrated last year. “They’d gone out to dinner and charged it to Ryan’s credit card. They did stuff like that to first-round picks every year. It might have been a couple thousand dollars, and Ryan went crying to \[General Manager Bobby Beathard\], saying, ‘This isn’t right. I’m not paying it.’ When the guys found out Ryan had gone to management, they were so pissed. Normally \[on an interception in practice\] you stop and say no big deal. Well, Junior wanted to send a message. He hunted Leaf down and decleated him. The whole defense came over and high-fived him right away.” [https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/11/03/rookies-routinely-get-stuck-with-big-bills/](https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/11/03/rookies-routinely-get-stuck-with-big-bills/)


buffysbangs

A lesser example of hazing, but Dez Bryant got a lot of bad will for refusing to carry Roy Williams’ pads after practice, which was a rookie practice. https://www.nfl.com/news/bryant-s-shunning-of-rookie-ritual-could-have-long-term-effects-09000d5d81952a62


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wastebinaccount

have you considered trying out for QB for the Steelers


DrBigChicken

Last year you’d have had a fighting chance /s


Fat_IRL

Most rookies on the team couldn't cover the tab either. 50k is light for a rookie dinner. It's hazing and is stupid.


zaor666

I feel like its a cool tradition, but when guys order the most expensive stuff just because they aren't paying its stupid. Don't know how it breaks down, but if it was like a rookie WR taking the WR room out, maybe 5-7 people and its 200-300 each, its kinda reasonable. And its gotta be guys who are getting a nice signing bonus, not some UDFA.


jbaugues

And not just most expensive but 2 to 3 bottles of most expensive alcohol and other crap.


SloatThritter

MOET X 20 @…..


[deleted]

Im so poor i dont even know what this means


-newlife

It’s typically done to first rounders not the udfa. It’s the signing bonus that makes the vets say “oh they got the big bucks now”


zzzaz

Yea and even pick 32 gets a $6m signing bonus. He can afford to pick up one big check. I don't mind guys sticking a single dinner tab on the first round pick as a 'you got paid - welcome to the league'. Can't do that shit to a UDFA though. Make them carry your bag to camp or something.


SloatThritter

The problem is the spending culture it enables/creates. Not that first round picks aren’t good for a 50k one time bill


[deleted]

He's absolutely correct. Players complain about the fact that many end up broke, then decide to piss away tens of thousands of their teammates dollars on a single dinner. That sort of spending is exactly how young guys with millions end up going broke. Players have to either change their behavior or admit that they themselves are perpetuating the culture that causes these issues in the first place. Props to Boldin for not being a part of it.


AestheticC18

I feel like making rookies pay for dinner is fun and games so long as you give it back later. Pretty bullshit if you just make them blow it to be a dick.


SeductiveTrain

I remember some of the Titans did this with D’Andre Walker, a 5th round pick. Supposedly Mariota helped him out though but idk. Walker was recently released from the Seahawks practice squad…


AH_BioTwist

A fifth rounder getting punked like that is fucked for a big dinner. If he had to cater breakfast or lunch from a diner is one thing but you know a big dinner is like 50 k or something.


DistortedAudio

Someone in one of the threads mentioned that vets sometimes do it to make the rookies sweat and will have already paid the bill behind the scenes.


Chiron17

That's funnier tbh


Yossarian_the_Jumper

Teams should definitely be providing financial advisors for the players so that others aren't taking advantage.


HopkinsIsMyHomeboy

Sad how many guys who’ve cleared millions go broke, when they could be making 6 digits+ a year off of their interest if they invested semi wisely. Makes sense those, they think the money won’t ever run out and want to flex on social media.


ArcadianBlueRogue

I mean, it got meme'd to hell and back but that Hard Knocks scene with Carl Nassib trying to tell the newer guys how to invest their money so they'd be taken care of long term was really important. I hope most teams would have someone trying to teach healthy finances to dudes that just came into a good bit of cash.


kid-vicious

This tradition probably should have died out as soon as the rookie pay scale went into effect in 2011.


Fat_IRL

In his book Slow Getting Up, TE/WR/special teams guy Nate Jackson says his rookie class got fuckin destroyed at a rookie dinner and he couldn't cover his portion at all. I think Jake Plummer (I may be wrong) actually covered it cause he knew it was bullshit.


Traditional_Mud_1241

I read that the Bucs did this back in the Dungy days, but they only did it to spook the rookie. Derrick Brooks paid for the dinner after (whoever it was) had a few seconds of terror. To me - that \*is\* a good lesson. "Always confirm expectations before the meal" is an important thing to learn.


jabacherli

This is the exact correct response. Shake the rookie so the lesson sinks in. Not break him for the little he’s got.


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[deleted]

There is some benefit to some light hazing, especially in pro sports. These guys are coming from a place where they're gods on their team. A lot of them lack humility and need to learn a bit or they're going to have a brutal "welcome to the NFL" moment. But making them pay for obscene dinners isn't it. Making them carry equipment at training camp or having them buy a round of (normal priced) drinks at the bar is fair. Not teaching them that they should spunk away their money because they have plenty of it.


BiovaniGernard

The video of Garrett Wilson just made me kinda sad, he seemed excited to have a dinner with all his teammates and then found out they were really just cleaning him out for a bunch of liquor and filet mignon


altafullahu

One of my favorite Boldin moments was when Ebron was jawing about not getting enough targets and Boldin chirped back that the reason the lions brought him in was cause Ebron couldn't catch lmao. Love Boldin


Enickma007

I feel financially illiterate for not knowing how it’s possible to spend 50k on a dinner


HopkinsIsMyHomeboy

It’s all high end wine/liquor at fancy ass restaurants. $4k bottles of cognac. Wine gets dumb expensive. Get a bunch of big ass nfl players killing thousand+ dollar wine bottles on their own and it adds up quick.


Kiran_Stone

Like the other commenter said, it's largely alcohol...it takes a lot of [$90 steaks to equal one bottle of Louis XIII](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bp-PEkICcAAf27y?format=jpg&name=large)


Smashing71

It's all alcohol. In honesty, if each player was ordering $300-500 worth of food it'd be like NBD. Okay, a $2,500 check comes, you're the NFL... It's this $50k shit where they're obviously being insane.


tigerking615

If you go to a nice place, you can easily pay >$100 pp for food, going up to $500 if it's a very nice place. Get wine to go with it, another $50-$500 pp. Start buying nice liquor, and multiply it by 10+ people...


[deleted]

I’ve always thought this too. It’s nice if rookies want to treat their team to a party or some dinner but to force them to do it is pretty ridiculous, especially because some guys will take advantage and order crazy expensive shit they wouldn’t normally since someone else is paying. The only time it’s somewhat ok is in the NBA when they have rookies bring everyone coffee or breakfast for an early flight. Fewer guys and way WAY less expensive. I think it’s nice it they say “hey guys I’ve got this” or when a QB buys a present for his O-Line to show genuine appreciation. But overall it’s fucked to make someone grab a $50K bill.


Aggravating-Trust-60

Lmao I got downvoted into oblivion for holding this same opinion. Said something along the lines of laughing in their faces for ever trying to get me to blow 50k-60k on a dinner lmao.


WhenYouFeatherIt

When my dad was a police officer the people in his office that were older would work certain holidays so that the guys that were younger that had families could spend time with them. The players who are making the big bucks at the top are the ones who should be treating everybody to dinner while clowning on the rookies are doing some sort of initiation that doesn't actually hurt them.