Trey McBride is one of the NFL’s top tight ends, as he was during his college days. Rarely do players from the Mountain West conference get recognition from the league, but McBride was an outlier. Coming from Colorado State and having won the John Mackey Award in 2021, the tight end was putting a lesser-known program on the map. However, despite how rewarding his stint with the Rams was, there was one time he had to put his foot down in front of the program.

“That was pretty special just to win [the Mackey Award],” McBride said on Bussin’ With The Boys. “But the funny thing about this is they give you the big trophy. It’s huge. And at the time, Colorado State was like, ‘Are you going to keep the trophy or are we going to [keep it with us?] ‘ and I’m like, ‘What? It’s my trophy. I’m keeping [it].’ And they’re like, ‘Well, we got to get a replica. It’s like 15 grand; like, how are we going to do that? And I’m like, ‘I don’t know, man. Figure it out.’

“So that was like a big deal, because they’re like, ‘We got to ask some donors for some money to get this trophy in the trophy case.’ And I’m like, “Well, you guys better figure it out because I’m keeping this one.”

Trey McBride is one of the most prominent players to have ever come out of Colorado State Athletics. As of 2025, he was one of only seven alumni from the school to be active in the NFL. As a senior at CSU, McBride recorded 90 receptions for 1,121 yards, making him the first tight end in program history to go past the 1,000-yard mark in a season.

However, as much as Colorado State loved reaping the benefits of having McBride on their roster, they were indeed in the middle of a financial crunch. Like many non-Power 4 schools, the pandemic affected CSU as well. In April 2021, the Denver Post reported that the athletics program was dealing with an $18 million deficit. The budget situation was so dire that anything more than $200 in spending required executive approval, per the Greeley Tribune.

$15,000 for a trophy replica was definitely going to be a big ask.

McBride, however, is thriving. He currently plays for the Arizona Cardinals, having been drafted by the team in 2022 with the 55th overall pick. In April 2025, he signed a four-year contract extension worth $76 million, becoming the most expensive tight end in NFL history at that time. He was only surpassed by veteran TE George Kittle signing an extension a few weeks later.

Later in 2025, McBride broke the NFL single-season receptions record for a tight end with 126 receptions, and tallied 1,239 yards, and 11 touchdowns. After five seasons in the league, he now has two Pro Bowl nods and a First-Team All-Pro nomination earned last season.

Trey McBride might grow to be one of the biggest players in his position by the time he becomes as seasoned as Kittle or Travis Kelce.