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          New York Jets

          Jets great Wayne Chrebet on $1,500 bonus in 1995: 'Thought I was rich'

          Wayne Chrebet, the former New York Jets star receiver, tweets out a photo of the player contract he signed in 1995 as an undrafted free agent. USA TODAY Sports
          • Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff WriterApr 25, 2020, 09:39 PM
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              Rich Cimini is a staff writer who covers the New York Jets and the NFL at ESPN. Rich has covered the Jets for over 30 years, joining ESPN in 2010. Rich also hosts the Flight Deck podcast. He previously was a beat writer for the New York Daily News and is a graduate of Syracuse University. You can follow him via Twitter @RichCimini.
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          As the final day of the 2020 NFL draft commenced, former New York Jets great Wayne Chrebet decided to celebrate a 25-year anniversary on social media. He tweeted a copy of his first NFL contract, dated April 25, 1995. He noted his modest signing bonus -- $1,500.

          "Thought I was rich," the 46-year-old wrote in his tweet on Saturday.

          After a stellar college career at Hofstra, the Long Island-based school that housed the Jets' training facility at the time, Chrebet signed as an undrafted free agent. Nowadays, undrafted players -- the good ones, anyway -- will get about 10 times that amount for their signing bonus.

          In 1995, Chrebet was considered the ultimate long shot. Most folks figured the Jets gave him a contract as a favor to Hofstra, but the receiver proved it was much more than that. Starting out as the 10th wide receiver on a 10-man depth chart, he leapfrogged the competition and earned a spot in the Jets' starting lineup by opening day.

          Not bad for someone who, on the first day of training camp, was temporarily detained by a security guard who thought the 5-foot-10 Chrebet was an autograph-seeking fan trying to crash practice.

          Chrebet went on to deliver one of the legendary careers in Jets franchise history. In 11 seasons, he caught 580 passes for 7,365 yards and 41 touchdowns and was named to the Jets' Ring of Honor.

          He wound up making more than $10 million in career earnings, a pretty good parlay on a $1,500 bonus.