NFL Rookies Anxious To Collect 1st Paycheck

BRADENTON, FL – The NFL lockout has prevented Marcell Dareus from cashing in on turning pro, so he mows his godfather’s lawn in exchange for a place to stay.

Von Miller sleeps in the same room he had in high school.

Anthony Castonzo makes deliveries for his parents’ restaurant.

Aaron Williams does ranch work, throwing hay and fixing barbed-wire
fences.

These are tough times for NFL rookies. More than 150 of them gathered in the Bradenton-Sarasota area for a union-sponsored symposium, and it’s a rookie class unlike any other because the lockout has delayed that first paycheck.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and players’ union chief DeMaurice Smith spoke to the group Wednesday but offered no timetable for a likely end to the dispute.