Marquez Valdes-Scantling keeps with tradition by pranking Skyy Moore

The NFL tradition of pranking rookies is alive and well — at least for the Kansas City Chiefs.

On Saturday night, Chiefs second-round rookie Skyy Moore posted a photo of a rather expensive tab from the popular Kansas City restaurant, “801 Chophouse,” to his official Twitter account.

The fake tab was nearly $23,000.

Veteran receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling provided context for the moment when he spoke to the media on Monday morning.

“They brought the bill out, they ran his card twice, got declined,” said Valdes-Scantling. “He had to call his financial advisor, got on the phone with the bank... he was sweating for about a good five minutes. It’s a long five minutes, too, where everyone’s just looking at you. It worked perfectly. It was good fun.”

Valdes-Scantling remembered when he was the victim of the same prank as a rookie with the Green Bay Packers back in 2018.

“Davante [Adams] and Randall [Cobb] did it to me, so I feel like I just had to pass the tradition down,” said Valdes-Scantling. “It was fun. I enjoyed it.”

He went on to explain that once the rookie is shaken up, the veteran — in this case, Valdes-Scantling — takes care of the real bill.

The expectation is that sometime in the next few years, Moore will pay it forward.

“When it’s his turn to do it, when the next rookie comes in, it will be good for him,” said Valdes-Scantling. “It was good for the guys. Everyone enjoyed it. [It was] good bonding for the guys and got to learn a lot about the guys off the field. It was a good time.”