New York Jets linebacker Frankie Luvu has had a strong preseason, but an NFL fine has put him in debt to open his professional career.
New York Jets linebacker Frankie Luvu has had a solid start to his NFL career. Undrafted out of Washington State, Luvu deserves enough credit in getting this far, beginning from his days as a native of the tiny South Pacific territory of American Samoa, but he has gone the extra mile this NFL preseason, tallying five tackles over three games. That number includes a sack earned in the Jets’ annual preseason showdown against the New York Giants.
Normally, you’d assume Luvu is closer to an NFL payday, but thanks to some league penalties, he’ll begin his days in the pros in the red.
Despite an otherwise strong preseason, Luvu took a bad penalty during the Jets’ second preseason game, called for a 15-yard personal foul, a late hit on Colt McCoy of the Washington Redskins. In addition to the 15 yards, Luvu was handed a $20,054 fine.
Former Jets tight end Anthony Becht has gotten to know Luvu over the past few weeks, having called his preseason games as the Jets analyst on WCBS, alongside play-by-play man Ian Eagle. Becht, apparently dumbfounded by the penalty levied against Luvu, pointed out on Twitter on Sunday that the rookie is in debt before he plays a down in the league. He uses a Tom Hanks GIF to iterate his point.
The weekly preseason pay for a 1st yr NFL player is $1,075. Jets undrafted rookie LB Frankie Luvu has made $4,300 this summer. The NFL fined him $20,054 for his illegal hit vs the Redskins. He’s officially in the hole $-15,754. pic.twitter.com/17D48p5Q3P
— Anthony Becht (@Anthony_Becht) August 26, 2018
A Jet from 2000-2004, Becht also calls college football games on the ESPN family of networks.
Should Luvu make the active roster, he would have no problem paying the fine, as a minimum salary for a member of the active roster in 2018 will be $465,000, according to Spotrac. Should he make the practice squad, he would make a weekly salary of $7,600.
Luvu will get one more chance to make his case for the roster on Thursday night, so he can pay off his fine, as the Jets end their preseason against the Philadelphia Eagles (7:00 p.m. ET, WCBS).
