Danny Amendola Shares Emotional Story Of How He Landed With Patriots
Danny Amendola didn’t have the brightest of all careers in the National Football League. We all remember him being a starving receiver in the League, aiming towards a huge break with an organization. Amendola and Erik Burkhardt shared the story of the player’s signing with the New England Patriots in 2013. This was a rather stressful period for Amendola, and the agent even gave him money to relax at a spa. Yes, it was that bad.
“It’s free agency and I’m thinking one thing: I want to get paid, I want a contract. I’m broke as [expletive]. I’m a hungry football player. I need to get my big breakthrough. [Burkhardt] reaches in his wallet and says, ‘Here, D.A. Here’s $30. It was like a $20, a $5, four crumpled up $1 bills and some change.’ And I’m like, ‘Dude, I don’t want $30 dollars, bro.’ And what did I say next E.B.?” Amendola said.
“He said in the sweetest Danny Amendola voice, looking through my soul, ‘E.B., I don’t want $30. I want $30 [expletive] million dollars,’” Burkhardt added.
Amendola was in hospital a few weeks later. He had tonsillitis or something, but Burkhardt says it was more likely a result of partying hard. We’ll understand that. Amendola was just trying to get his mind off free agency.
So, he was in hospital, and the nurse told him the great news about earning $30 million. “I immediately start bawling crying. I have IVs in my arms. … I immediately called E.B. and we both started crying because we both just came up in the game,” Amendola said. Playing with Tom Brady was just a bonus.
“That soon set in when Bill [Belichick] called me a couple hours later and said, ‘Get your [expletive] to Foxborough and ink this up.’” He was like, ‘We’re not having a press conference. We don’t give a [expletive] about that.’ Then I realized this place was all about work — no glitz, no glamour, all work and The Patriot Way,” Amendola recalls.
He’s now signed with the Dolphins, and every bit of his success happened as a result of his efforts in the Pats organization.
What an emotional story! This man deserves this and much more.