Life After Bonus A Rude Awakening For Most Nfl Rookies, Introduction To Irs And A New Lifestyle An Eye-Popping Experience

Darrell Russell has a problem. He can’t fit behind the wheel of his dream car.

The rookie defensive tackle for the Oakland Raiders just signed a contract that will pay him $8.325 million guaranteed, but that isn’t going to help him squeeze his 307-pound frame into a Ferrari.

“We’re going to have to get new seats for it,” Russell said. “Racing seats are a lot thinner.”

A handful of idealistic men gathered in Ralph Hay’s Hupmobile showroom in Canton, Ohio, on Sept. 17, 1920, to lay the foundation for what would become the NFL.

Every year, NFL rookies honor those founding fathers by hustling down to their local car dealership and picking out the shiniest ride on the lot.

“Whatever player it is, when they get their signing bonus, the first thing they do is go out and buy a car,” said San Francisco 49ers vice president Dwight Clark, who bought an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme with his $5,000 rookie signing bonus in 1979. “It was the same when I played. You’ve got to have wheels. The kind of wheels you get depends on the size of the check.”

Everybody wonders what it would be like to win the lottery, but NFL rookies actually live that dream. Agent Leigh Steinberg has made more people instant millionaires than Ed McMahon. So what does an athlete from a lower-middle class background do when presented a fortune?

They ask: What on earth is FICA?

Running back Ki-Jana Carter received a $7.125 million dollar signing bonus after being the first-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in 1995. He soon learned how quickly that sum diminishes after the government takes its cut.

“Ki-Jana once said ‘Somebody stole my money,”’ Steinberg said. “I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘It was supposed to be $7 million and it’s only $4,800,000.’ I said, ‘Ki-Jana, that somebody is the IRS.”’

Here’s where the irony comes in. Rookies typically sign on the eve of training camp. So how do they celebrate their new-found riches? They pack a pair of $5 flip-flops and some ratty T-shirts into a duffel bag and head off to training camp, where they live in dormitories and stand in cafeteria lines.

“I’m not used to being able to go out and do whatever I want to do, but during the season, I don’t have time to do anything, anyway,” said 49ers rookie fullback Marc Edwards, who just pocketed a $650,000 signing bonus.

After their cars have been paid for, complete with shiny mag wheels and a stereo system capable of shattering the rear window, a player typically buys a home for himself, his parent(s), or both. Then it’s off to the mall for a trunk load of CDs and a big-screen TV.

“I’m 21 years old and I’m buying a house and a Ferrari,” Russell said. “It’s really, really weird. What am I doing here?”

Some players don’t know what to do with their money. Steinberg said 49ers quarterback Steve Young can identify the serial numbers on the bills from his first check. When Young got his first payment for $2.5 million from the now defunct USFL, he pushed it to Steinberg without even a glance.

“He was frightened by that much money,” Steinberg said. “It represented almost a corruption of the low-key lifestyle he liked.”

Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe was getting his car repaired when a mechanic pulled down the visor and had a $100,000 check fall into his lap. Teammates used to find uncashed game checks lying around Young’s apartment.

“The money fills players with a profound sense of contentment,” Steinberg said. “That can be reflected in two ways. Some players, upon getting that check, lose their motivation. Suddenly, competition doesn’t seem so compelling. Suddenly, sticking their head into the line doesn’t seem so necessary. But most players play because they love the competition and the money doesn’t change them.”

Some players are downright miserly. Their free workout gear from the team is subsidized by more free workout gear from athletic apparel companies. Free Gatorade is pirated from the training room in gym bags.

Raiders outside linebacker Rob Fredrickson will earn a tidy $937,500 this season but frequents an Alameda, Calif., pizza parlor because it’s all-you-can-eat for $5.

“There are some players for which this money is nothing they can use,” Steinberg said. “Once they have the right car, television, sound system and house, they get on a budget and are well under control.”

Raiders middle linebacker Greg Biekert celebrated his signing bonus by calling his investment manager. Then again, his rookie signing bonus was only $21,000, chump change by NFL standards.

“That’s why I didn’t do much with it, because I didn’t have much to start with,” Biekert said.

Especially after taxes.