Believe it or not, stepping into the NFL as a rookie isn’t just about football; it is an initiation. First comes rookie minicamp: gear fittings, playbook lessons, and endless drills. Then the hazing—wild haircuts, goofy pranks, even singing in front of the team. And don’t forget the infamous rookie dinner, where one bill can rival a luxury car payment.

Speaking of tradition, Davante Adams once led a $9,000 rookie dinner in Green Bay’s Republican Chop House, sticking rookies Equanimeous St. Brown and Marquez Valdes-Scantling with a tab featuring $700 whiskey, $414 in KC Strip steaks, and $260 crab legs—an expensive, comical NFL initiation they will never forget. But if that sounds steep, just wait until you see what happened in Los Angeles.

The bill told the story all on its own. With a $15,022.21 tab, it was stacked with kosher tomahawks, seafood towers, bottles of Chateau Mouton Rothschild Bordeaux, and enough Don Julio 1942 to stock a private club. At the center of it all was Davante Adams, the Rams’ new star wideout and a 32-year-old veteran with nothing left to prove, pushing the tab across the table toward four wide-eyed rookies: Konata Mumpfield, Tru Edwards, Brennan Presley, and Mario Williams. Tae Adams displayed the full bill on his story, and it presented a jaw-dropping 5-figure liability that the Rams rookies had to pay.

This was the “rookie dinner” in all its glory, a tradition as old as the NFL merger, where first-year players pick up the check for their veteran teammates. Adams, fresh off a two-year deal with Los Angeles and already bonding with quarterback Matthew Stafford, played his part perfectly.

The night was less about the menu and more about the message: Welcome to the league. You’re one of us now. Former linebacker Channing Crowder once compared the experience to “putting your pads on before practice,” and the rookies, whether they liked it or not, were getting their first reps.

The list of delicacies was a compilation of high-end dining, including 10 pours of Hakushu 18, five servings of A5 filet, and even full pounds of crab legs. Ryan Clark’s words from years ago still rang true: “I did it, and you are going to do it, and because you did it, you are going to make another rookie do it.” While critics like Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin have called the ritual excessive, even questioning its place in a league preaching financial literacy, it remains a rite of passage to date.

Inside the Rams’ 2025 WR room

The Rams’ wide receiver room in 2025 has been a fascinating mix of youthful energy and veteran poise, anchored by Davante Adams. Fresh off signing a two-year deal in March after his release from the Jets, the 32-year-old wasted no time settling in.

Training camp drills have seen him not only sharpen his own game but pass along tricks of the trade to younger teammates. “I feel like a proud dad watching him succeed out there,” Adams said of rookie Konata Mumpfield, whose route-running and pace changes have even taught the veteran “new approaches” he hadn’t considered before.

The rookie crop is as competitive as it is promising. Mumpfield is pushing through an ankle injury from a preseason clash with Dallas, Tru Edwards has just shaken off a stint on the PUP list, and Brennan Presley, an undrafted gem, opened eyes with a touchdown and special teams work against the Cowboys.

Mario Williams, also from Tulane like Edwards, has returned to practice in full health. All four are chasing roster spots in a crowded depth chart behind Adams and Puka Nacua, and all four have found themselves under the wing of a receiver who knows exactly how steep the climb can be. But, they found lighter moments off the fields with the rookie dinner.

For Adams, there was no malice in the tradition. He has been through it himself, and now he is leading by example, on and off the field. This offseason, he called his work with Stafford “probably some of the hardest” of his career, praising the quarterback’s form as “amazing” and reminiscent of his early years. That chemistry will be crucial when the season kicks off, but on this night, the rookies were staring at a five-figure receipt and realizing that in the NFL, some lessons come off the field.