New England Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe enjoyed the most memorable game of his young NFL career on Thursday night, but none of his friends or family were in attendance to witness it. Zappe had a great reason for that.
Zappe finished 19-of-28 for 241 yards, three touchdowns and an interception in New England’s 21-18 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. After the game, he was asked if anyone from his inner circle traveled to Acrisure Stadium to watch him in person. Zappe said they did not.
“Nobody. They all watched from home,” Zappe said. “I don’t want to pay for those tickets. I’m still on a rookie contract. That’s expensive.”
NFL players typically get free tickets to home games for a certain number of family and friends. For road games, they are given the option to purchase tickets out of an allotment that the host reserves for visiting teams. There are also travel costs, of course.
Zappe’s salary this season is $870,000. He makes far more money than the average person, but nowhere near what some of his NFL peers make. You can understand if he did not want to cover tickets, flights, hotels and other costs to have a group of people watch him in Pittsburgh.
Those who cheered for Zappe at home must have enjoyed the show. The 24-year-old surprised most viewers by putting up points in a game that was expected to have barely any of them.
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