Trey McBride was on the golf course Thursday when his agent called to tell him he was about to become the highest paid tight end in the NFL.
McBride had already drilled a shot down the middle of the fairway, so once the call came, he told playing partner and Cardinals teammate Zaven Collins he'd have to skip the rest of that hole. There was business to which to attend.
When the round was over, Collins gave him a double-bogey for the hole.
"I played one of the best rounds I ever played," McBride said, carding an 81 even with the scoring of what will be now known as the $76 million hole. "I've never golfed that well in my life."
In fairness, McBride was already playing well before the call that changed his life. Besides, the extension – four years, through 2029, signed Friday morning alongside GM Monti Ossenfort – was inevitable, a goal Ossenfort said as far back as the Scouting combine was coming.
But McBride still felt all the emotion. He wanted it done "just so I could stop worrying about it" and wasn't acting like a guy who assumed such big money was coming, even if he could have. That wouldn't have fit his mindset that remains grounded in the small-town (Fort Morgan, Colorado) kid who wasn't sure he'd even reach the pros.
"If you would've told me I was going to be the highest paid (NFL tight end), I'd have never believed you," McBride said.
McBride was asked to reflect on his NFL path, which he acknowledged was "rocky." A second-round pick in 2022, he only had 29 receptions as a rookie playing behind veteran Zach Ertz, fear he would be a bust a concern about the fan base. McBride felt all of it.
Heading into his second year, McBride said offensive coordinator Drew Petzing told him he wasn't sure how much he was going to play at first – a message that McBride admitted he took hard. Ertz got hurt seven games into the season, however, and McBride's door opened.
"I knew my opportunity was going to come and when it did I had to seize it," McBride said, tears welling in his eyes and voice cracking. "I feel like that's exactly what I did. I put the work in every day, I put the work in all the time, and to finally reap the rewards is …"
McBride had to pause before adding, "exciting."
"Happy tears for sure," he added.
His teammates responded in a big way. Kyler Murray was the first to reach out, FaceTiming his top receiving target. McBride talked to James Conner and Budda Baker among others; Darius Robinson watched his Friday press conference from the back of the room.
"This is home, this is where I want to be," McBride said. "I love this organization, I want to be here, I want to be a Cardinal and I want to win here."
Most of that is taken care of with the contract and the five seasons it now encompasses. And yes, it was emotional and yes, it made the 25-year-old's bank account grow to historic proportions. Yet when McBride is asked about what is now next for him, the idea of big money quickly is dismissed.
Football matters.
"This isn't why you play," McBride said. "You play to win, and that's the next thing for me, I want to win. We are on the warpath to win.
"Everything is trending in the right direction."
Even, apparently, McBride's golf game – handy when you've committed to live in Arizona the next five years.
