Andrew DePaola was 27 years old and five seasons past his last game at Rutgers when he finally made his NFL regular-season debut with the Buccaneers back in 2014.
"I remember looking at my first paycheck," said the 35-year-old Vikings long snapper. "They paid us every two weeks during the season. It was $48,000. That day changed my life."
Twenty-four grand a week was a tad more than DePaola was making restocking shelves at Best Buy in East Brunswick, N.J. Or tending bar at DePaola's Pub in Arbutus, Md.
"I did a little bit of everything at the family restaurant, so I tried tending bar so I could make a little more in tips," DePaola said.