MIAMI – Before every game, Raheem Mostert does some motivational reading.
Mostly the list of six NFL teams that cut him from the time he went undrafted in 2015 until he landed a job with the San Francisco 49ers a couple of years later.
“It helps me a lot, it helps me a tremendous amount,” said the speedy 27-year old running back. “I’ve never really had any revenge games, I just keep that list so that way I have motivation, to say hey look, I came this far, why stop? Why quit? Just keep going and do what I do.”
What he did in the 37-20 NFC championship game win over the Green Bay Packers was set a record with 220 yards rushing and four touchdowns. Thank you very much Eagles, Dolphins, Ravens, Browns, Jets and Bears.
“It was a blessing,” said Mostert. “I can’t give enough credit to the O-line and everyone that helped me achieve that goal. I’m ecstatic that I had an opportunity to do that.”
Asked if he ever had four touchdowns in a game before, Mostert scoffed and harkened back to his days as a kid growing up in New Smyrna, Fla., four hours north of Miami.
“Probably had five,” he said. “I was a quarterback then too, but you play all the positions when you’re in Pop Warner.”
His grandfather never missed one of those games, and he’s not going to miss the next one either.
“He was recording me when I was a little boy in Pop Warner, recording all my games and being proud,” Mostert said when asked about the inspirational person in his life. “We still have the VCRs. I always look at them every time I get a chance to go back to his house.
“I gave him an invite (to the Super Bowl) and he almost burst out in tears, he was so excited.”
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MIAMI – Ryan Hunter is one of the highest paid players in the NFL these days.
He’s also one of the lowest.
An offensive lineman who is the lesser known of two Canadians with the Chiefs, Hunter spent most of the season on the team’s practice squad, which means he was making a minimum $8,000 per week. But since the playoffs began, he’s been on the 53-man roster before being declared one of the seven “inactive” players on game day.
That’s not so horrible for a 24-year old who’s still developing his skills.
See, after the regular season, teams don’t pay their players, who instead get a league-mandated bonus that’s the same for everyone on the 53-man roster. So although Hunter hasn’t suited up in the post-season, he has collected some extra coin while watching in street clothes from the sidelines.
The same as Patrick Mahomes, in fact.
“I’ll take it,” said the product of North Bay, Ont. “It’s a nice little raise from practice squad.”
On the flip side, “guys who usually make $10 million a year, their cheque is like two percent of what it usually is,” said Hunter. “But you play for the ring, you don’t play for the paycheques.”
Meanwhile, there’s a bonus on top of the bonus. Players on the winning team in the Super Bowl get $128,000 each. The losing side gets $64,000 per player.
To a guy like Hunter, that’s a significant difference. For Mahomes, who will probably be making a salary in $40 million range next year, not so much.
“Making that in overall (career) earnings, I’ll take that,” said Hunter.
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