Rookie hazing is no joke, and Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert found that out the hard way. Herbert, who went sixth overall in the 2020 NFL Draft out of Oregon, recently shared the story on SoFi’s Richer Lives podcast, hosted by Vivian Tu.
According to ClutchPoints, Herbert recalled his veteran teammates handing him a fake receipt after a team dinner during a 2021 preseason road trip — with a bill that read somewhere around $40,000. The Chargers hadn’t been able to run their usual rookie dinner tradition in 2020 because of COVID-19 restrictions, so the prank landed a year later than normal, on a first-round pick who still hadn’t been fully broken in.
Herbert didn’t sugarcoat how it felt in the moment.
“It was during a trip to a preseason game and some of the older guys brought out a fake receipt, and it was like $40,000,” Herbert said.
He said panic set in fast, because the money he had access to at the time wasn’t built for a bill like that.
“At the time, I had money saved up in this small community credit union in Eugene, and I never used my credit card, never used my debit card that was associated with my earnings — it was what I saved up from college. And so, I was like, ‘I can’t pay for this dinner, you guys. I don’t have it. I’m so sorry.'”
The veterans let him sweat for a bit before pulling back the curtain.
“And then I was panicking for a little bit, and then they ended up bringing out the normal receipt that wasn’t nearly as bad. It was still bad, but not that bad. So, that was a good learning moment,” Herbert said.
Looking back on it now, seven years into his career, Herbert can laugh it off. “It makes it more fun knowing that they would never drive up the price like that and purposely harm someone,” he said.
Rookie dinner pranks are a league-wide tradition
Herbert’s experience isn’t unique to the Chargers locker room. Rookie dinner hazing shows up around the NFL nearly every preseason, and the fake-receipt trick is a recurring bit. Seattle Seahawks rookie Byron Murphy II was hit with a fabricated $156,000 dinner bill, and the San Francisco 49ers once inflated a rookie tab to a reported $300,000 before settling the real cost at around $4,500, per Yahoo Sports.
The prank works the same way across teams: veterans run up an outrageous fake number to see how a rookie reacts, then swap in the real, far more reasonable bill. It’s meant as an initiation, not punishment — a rite of passage that sticks with players long after the shock wears off.
Justin Herbert’s career earnings
Herbert has come a long way financially since that 2021 dinner. According to Spotrac, he has earned more than $150 million over his six seasons in the league. He entered the NFL on a fully guaranteed four-year, $26,578,755 rookie contract after being drafted in 2020.
Then, during the 2023 offseason, Herbert signed a five-year, $262.5 million contract extension, including $218,738,376 in guarantees. The deal runs through the 2029 season. If he plays it out in full, Herbert stands to make roughly $289 million across his career, not including any future extensions.
| Contract | Length | Total Value | Guaranteed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 Rookie Deal | 4 years | $26,578,755 | $26,578,755 |
| 2023 Extension | 5 years | $262,500,000 | $218,738,376 |
On the field, Herbert has led the Chargers to three playoff appearances but has yet to win a postseason game. He’s a two-time Pro Bowler and was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2020.
