Steakhouse Mocks Up $26K Fake Check For NFL Rookies

It’s a tradition that NFL players will rack up hefty restaurant bills and force new players to pick up the tab. But, one team has used this hazing history to stage a much kinder prank. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offensive linemen had steakhouse chain Ruth’s Chris Steak House mock up a fake restaurant bill to present to rookies Korren Kirven and Cole Gardner at the end of a meal, according to Bleacher Report.

The $26,357.31 bill originally appeared on offensive tackle Donovan Smith’s Instagram story. Tampa Bay Times reporter Greg Auman then shared it on Twitter, where users quickly picked up on the prank because the check featured supposedly ridiculous items like $10,000 cognac, $12 brussels sprouts and a free child’s ice cream cone. But considering that the Washington Redskins once forced rookies to pick up a real $22,000 steakhouse bill — one included not one, but two Shirley Temples — it doesn’t actually seem all that outrageous.

Nonetheless, the real tab at Ruth’s Chris Steak House came to a reasonable $3,000, and the veteran players spared Kirven and Gardner, and split the check among themselves.

• Buccaneers Prank Rookies with Fake $26,000 Restaurant Bill [Bleacher Report]
• @gregauman [Twitter]