How different is life for a third-round NFL draft pick compared to an undrafted free agent? Allow Jakobi Meyers and Jonnu Smith to explain.
The New England Patriots on Thursday released a video of players sharing their most memorable “rookie mistakes.” Meyers’ and Smith’s both were travel-related, and they illustrated the stark difference in their respective rookie contract values.
As a third-round pick of the Tennessee Titans in 2017, Smith’s first NFL contract was a four-year, $3.1 million deal that included $706,288 guaranteed. Meyers, meanwhile, got just $60,000 guaranteed and a $10,000 signing bonus when he joined the Patriots as a UDFA in 2019.
That gap was reflected in their travel solutions, with the tight end springing for a private jet and the wide receiver enduring a three-hour journey through Boston’s public transit system.
Smith: “So we had a bye week, and I thought it would be cool to go down to Florida. So I get down to Florida and I’m enjoying my bye week … and I decided it was cool to book the last flight back to Tennessee. My flight was leaving in about five minutes, I had a box of pizza in my hand, my bookbag on. … I get to my gate, the flight is closed. And long story short, because I didn’t want to miss my team meeting, I had to buy a $15,000 jet back to Nashville, Tennessee.”
Meyers: “Fresh after rookie minicamp, I decided I was going to go home for a little bit, go visit my family like everybody was doing. … I come back, and I fly into Boston, and the Ubers are, like, $110 at the time. And I haven’t even made the team yet. I’m a rookie, undrafted. I’m like, ‘I don’t have $110 for an Uber.’ So I convinced myself I’m going to take the train with a 20% charge. So I’m like, ‘All right, let me Google Maps this.’ Now I’m this kid in Boston trying to make it from South Station back towards Mansfield, and it took me at least three hours.”
Smith landed a far more lucrative contract last offseason when the Patriots signed him for four years and $50 million. Meyers, who’s playing this season on a one-year restricted free agent tender worth $3.986 million, should do the same when he hits unrestricted free agency in March.
The big question: Will the Patriots pay up to keep their best and most reliable wideout or let him walk?
Both Smith and Meyers will hope to get this week’s bye without any additional travel hiccups. The Patriots will be back in action next Sunday when they host the New York Jets.
