"Make them pay" - Eric Weddle reveals the advice he got from Kobe Bryant during his tumultuous time with Chargers
Safety Eric Weddle came out of retirement to help his former team, the Los Angeles Rams, in their playoff run. Now, Weddle and the Rams are headed to the Super Bowl in their home stadium to face a young and feisty Cincinnati Bengals team this Sunday.
On Monday night during the Super Bowl's "Opening Night" festivities, players from both teams took questions from reporters worldwide.
He recalled a conversation with late NBA great Kobe Bryant, before the safety's departure from the San Diego Chargers. Weddle, who grew up a Los Angeles Lakers fan, was introduced to Kobe Bryant by mutual friends.
"He knew about the situation in San Diego and he knew about me. He said, "Make them pay in the worst pay possible", and he said some other explicitives in that. But, that just, it stayed with me, right, you know who you are, you know who you stand for and he just reminded me to make them pay for what they did. And I held onto that and now, it's all coming full circle."-Eric Weddle on a conversation he had with Kobe Bryant
He said that he still thinks about that conversation that he had with Bryant and lives by those words of determination that he gave him.
“I cherish that 20 minutes I had with him alone. He went through his struggles and became the Silent Assassin, the Black Mamba. So much of what he was as a player is who I strive to be. Just being great in every facet of life.”
What led to Eric Weddle leaving the Chargers?
Eric Weddle was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft out of Utah. The All-Pro played nine seasons with the Chargers, giving everything he had every time he took the field. As captain, he helped lead a Chargers team that was atop the AFC West standings.
Eric Weddle got some advice from Kobe Bryant near the end of his time with the Chargers.
"Make them pay in the worst way possible."
'Them' was referring to the Chargers' front office.
H/T to @SDUTKrasovic for this exchange. https://t.co/BG7hb4zX3n
So when it came time to negotiate a contract so that he could continue to stay with the Chargers, that didn't happen. The Chargers front office alleged that they offered an extension to the safety, but that he wasn't satisfied with the financial aspects of the contract.
Just before his last season with the team, he noted that the Chargers side of the story was filled with false allegations and that he wasn't specifically worried about the money.
Chargers fans have to be sick. The organization treated Eric Weddle like dirt. Nearly 7 years ago they said he had too much mileage on him and even fined him $10K for staying on the field for his daughter’s halftime performance. 7 years later? Super Bowl. https://t.co/CIPaWdfCLc
In 2016, he signed with the Baltimore Ravens for three seasons and then signed with the Los Angeles Rams, the team he played for in 2019 before retiring at the beginning of 2020.
Now that he has come out of retirement and will play a Super Bowl with a team that shares SoFi Stadium with the Chargers, it seems that he has 'made them pay' like Kobe Bryant suggested.