By MJD
Back in July, there was a big to-do about Cowboys rookie wide receiver Dez Bryant(notes) refusing to carry pads for fellow wide receiver Roy Williams. It’s tradition in the NFL that rookies perform menial chores for veteran teammates, so Bryant’s refusal drew some attention and criticism.
The mini-controversy blew over quickly. Bryant apologized, Williams accepted and everyone moved on. Williams did mention, though, that Bryant would have to pick up a dinner tab, and at the instant that Bryant refused the pad-carrying, Williams suddenly got a little hungrier and a little thirstier.
After the Cowboys beat the Texans, it was finally time for that dinner. The end result? Bryant probably wishes he’d have carried those pads. From Calvin Watkins at ESPN:
Monday night at Pappas Bros. Steakhouse, Bryant took the offensive players out, then Williams invited the defensive players and when the night was over the bill came: $54,896.
“They got the young fella,” said Bryant’s adviser David Wells. “What could he say? He had to pay it unless he wanted to wash dishes for a month.”
Players ordered basically everything on the menu and even took home bottles of wine.
Well played, Roy Williams. Not only was it a nice touch to invite the defense, but to also wait until everyone was in a celebratory and festive mood? That’s a veteran move.
Even when you factor in the number of players who attended, it still comes out to a ridiculous amount of money spent on food and drink for each person. Active game-day rosters include 45 people. Figure that some people probably skipped the festivities, and some coaches and other personnel might have been there, and we’ll guess it was around 50 people. That’s still well over $1,000 per person.
Revenge must have been delicious.
