Former Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne was a New England Patriot for a short amount of time. Staying with the Patriots throughout the 2015 preseason, he decided to hang up the cleats before Week 1 of the season.
He spoke about an exchange with New England head coach Bill Belichick on the Hellipod Podcast with Dan Hellie of NFL Media. To set the scene, Wayne offered to give New England back his signing bonus once he decided he was going to retire. Instead, Belichick, who doubles as the organization’s general manager, told the veteran that he could keep his money.
“I went up to him and I said, ‘Hey, this is what it is. I know got a signing bonus. I’ll give it back, no biggie,” Wayne said on the “Hellipod” podcast with NFL Media’s Dan Hellie. “Bill Belichick told me to keep it, man. Told me to keep it. I’m like, ‘Hey, you ain’t got to bend my arm back twice.’ He told me to keep it. And that was love, man. And I always had respect for him. I’ve heard people and seen stuff that he’s done on camera of his respect for me, and maybe that was just his sign of appreciation. We had a lot of battles against that team, so he told me to keep it. We kept it in the bank. I appreciate it. Hey, the best job ever.”
Wayne finished a career that saw him record over 14,000 receiving yards and 82 touchdowns. His best season came in 2007. That year, he played in all 16 games, recording 1,510 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. For his efforts that year, he was named a second-team All-Pro. He led the league in receiving yards and established himself as one of the most consistent receivers in the National Football League.
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