Longtime Atlanta Falcons/Washington Redskins defensive back DeAngelo Hall may have NFL tenure under his belt now, but just like veryone else, he had to start somewhere.
That somewhere was Atlanta, and back in his rookie season he had more to worry about than just ball hawking – he was having to deal with rookie hazing.
Hazing has ingrained itself into football’s culture, and NFL rookies expect the vets to get their licks in on the newbies. Overall it actually usually works as more of a bonding experience than a bullying experience, but sometimes the hazing can be pretty severe. Like, say, $15,000 severe.
While on Simms & Lefkoe, Hall explains how his rookie hazing experience didn’t exactly go how the vets had planned. On a night out in Vegas, Hall was simply required to pick up the bill when it was all said and done. With Hall making $230,000 that year as a rookie (plus a signing bonus), the eventual $15K bill probably didn’t look like chump change at the time.
Luckily for Hall, he had made a new friend (or two) that night, and A-Lister Paris Hilton decided to relieve the DB of his rookie responsibility.
Not bad for Hall, who got to walk away with his wallet still intact! Although he may never live down the fact that his 43 career interceptions were not nearly as nice as Paris Hilton’s bill interception.
(H/T Bleacher Report, Simms & Lefkoe)
