Nick Foles’ Super Bowl LII legacy usually starts and ends with the obvious stuff: the backup quarterback who got thrust into the spotlight, caught fire in the playoffs, and helped the Eagles beat the Patriots 41-33 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis to win the franchise’s first Super Bowl.
But there was another part of that run that hadn’t been out there until Peter King shared it this week.
On the Real Deal with Tony Reali podcast, King said Disney had offered Foles a guaranteed $150,000 contract and endorsement deal before the game. As King explained it, the money was locked in no matter what happened on the field.
“This is just, this is a guaranteed $150,000, so even if you lose, you’re getting a check for this,” King said on the Real Deal with Tony Reali podcast.
Foles wanted no part of it.
“‘And if you win, it’s gonna be a lot more, but here’s the minimum that we’re gonna pay you.’ And Foles is the first guy in the history of the Super Bowl who said, ‘No. I’m not signing it.'”
King said Foles’ agent pushed him to take what was being described as easy money, but the quarterback refused because he didn’t want anything distracting him before the game.
“‘And his agent said, “This is 150,000 free dollars. Just sign this.’
He goes, ‘No. I’m not signing anything.
It could enter my mind that, Hey, I’ve got this money on the line here. I mean they’re paying me $150,000 and I’m in the Super Bowl and all this.’
And he said, ‘Anything that was one tenth of 1% to take away my attention or my focus on this game, I’m not going to do it. If I win the game, fine.
I’ll do a hundred things because then I can cash in. But I will not sign anything to make any money before the game.'”
Considering how he played, it’s hard to argue with the call.
Foles completed 28 of 43 passes for 373 yards and threw three touchdown passes, including the famous 1-yard score on the “Philly Special” play. He finished it off by earning Super Bowl Most Valuable Player honors. Before all that, though, he was willing to walk away from what King described as “free” money just to keep his mind locked on the task in front of him.
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