Rookie hazing, for better or worse, remains engrained in the fabric of professional sports, an accepted rite of passage for young players navigating the labyrinth that is locker-room politics. The power dynamics of establishing said pecking order are more than a little problematic, not to mention outdated, a tired, wildly unsophisticated conceit bordering on emotional abuse.
Which leads us to the most played-out ritual of them all, the dreaded “rookie dinner,” where veterans, in a cruelty you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy, order an outrageous quantity of drinks and entrees, usually at an exclusive fine-dining establishment (the kind with strict dress codes and reservations booked weeks, if not months in advance), while expecting their younger, less financially-advantaged teammates to foot the bill.
It’s an extravagant waste, an exercise in excess that should make your blood boil in resentment. Of course, in closely mirroring society’s stubborn infatuation with the status quo, old habits, especially cultural norms, tend to die hard. Niners edge-rusher Drake Jackson experienced this firsthand, practically having a panic attack when he saw the tab for his rookie dinner, which, after taxes and applied gratuity, came out to well over $300,000.
That would be almost half of Jackson’s rookie salary ($705,000), though rest assured, that’s not what he actually paid. Niners vet Arik Armstead took to Twitter Monday to set the record straight, claiming the waitress went overboard on a prank gone awry, insisting the actual bill was for $7,500, of which he and two other veterans contributed $1,000 each, leaving Jackson and his fellow rookies to cover the remaining $4,500. If you pause the video at the 0:03-second mark, you can see the real bill came out to $7,691.
In retrospect, even factoring in three jumbo lobsters ($125 each) and a pair of tomahawk steaks (both $250) for the table, Jackson probably should have known Armstead was pulling his leg, particularly given some of the suspicious charges listed on what turned out to be a bogus receipt. Regardless, $4,500 is a much more palatable sum than $322,391.05, which is almost as much as Jackson’s signing bonus ($366,344).
A second-round pick out of USC, Jackson has had a productive rookie year, albeit in limited playing time, logging 14 tackles and three sacks over 299 defensive snaps for the NFC West Champs.
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