San Francisco 49ers receiver Deebo Samuel took part in an expensive tradition foisted upon rookies on Wednesday night, shelling out $3,700 for the team’s dinner at a steakhouse.
The team’s receiver unit gathered at Shanahan’s Steakhouse in Denver where it was practicing for Monday’s exhibition game against the Broncos, SFGate.com reported. The restaurant is owned by Mike Shanahan, the father of 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan.
The “rookie dinner” is apparently a tradition, in which newbies are stuck with an expensive bill by veteran players, usually to the tune of thousands of dollars. (The rookie receiver should have been able to manage the tab, despite its steepness: He’s slated to earn $7.7 million over four years.)
Samuel posted the bill to Instagram: $3,713.58. The video was spotted and posted to Twitter by Alex Tran of Niners Nation.
“Lord. Glad I don’t have to do this again. Rookie duties,” Samuel’s caption read.
Alex Tran@NinerAlex
The #49ers wideouts had their Rookie dinner tonight. Deebo Samuel takes the $3,713.58 bill for this one. Secure that bag Deebo.
 via @19problemz IG story
The check reflected 64 items for 10 guests, which included two orders of the seafood tower — $310 each — $54 for Dungeness crab; $122 for crab legs; $42 for crab cakes; $52.50 for coco shrimp; and $36 for lobster mac and cheese, according to the news site.
Paying for team dinners has been one of the more common hazing rituals in many a sport. Some rookies are also called upon to carry the bags of their veteran teammates and perform other nominal duties
Former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant got stuck with a $55,000 dinner tab during his first season. The tab reportedly included a $1,300 shot of Cognac.
The experience left the future star athlete upset. “I paid $55,000 for a dinner, and it struck me the wrong way,” he told Fox Sports 1’s “Back Of The Shop.” “I could’ve easily went off on every last one of them, but I didn’t. I kept myself together, and I wanted to change that.”