Stevan Ridley, a former running back with the New England Patriots, relayed a hilarious story about his former coach, Bill Belichick, shipping him off to “fat camp” after being drafted.
Ridley was a third-round pick out of LSU in the 2011 NFL draft. But he also came in a little hefty after adding eight pounds in the offseason.
No big deal, right? Wrong! You don’t win eight Super Bowls by letting guys get even a little out-of-shape.
Coach wanted him down 20 overall. Down to 220. And Ridley decided to confront Belichick face to face. It didn’t go well.
“I walked in and said, ‘Coach, I need to talk to you about this weight. And he said, ‘What’s the number? I can’t really remember what I had.’ Two-twenty, that’s impossible,” he apparently pleaded.
“And he looked at me, and he said, ‘Well, Rid, I mean, really, I think it’s only about $563 per pound per day that you’re overweight. So, it’s really up to you.’”
“I can do quick math. I’m a third-round draft pick, I ain’t got money like that,” Ridley added. “So, fat camp I went.”
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Bill Belichick Told Ridley To Lose Some Weight, So ‘Fat Camp I Went’
Incidentally, if you’re not as good with math as Stevan Ridley is, the fine, if he somehow managed to lose 1 pound per day over 20 straight days, would have been $118,242.
His rookie contract with the Patriots gave him an average salary of $738,375. The fine would have been a shade under 20% of his entire first year’s salary.
So, fat camp he went! Amazing.
If only Bill Belichick would have revealed more of this personality during his career. Instead, he hid under a gray hoodie for basically 30 years of his career.
Who knew he was sending players to “fat camp” and then taunting them with fines if they tried to tell him they couldn’t do it? This man is an absolute legend.
Rid thought he was going to Foxboro turns out Bill was sending him to Camp Hope to train with Tony Perkis. 💪
— Julian Edelman (@Edelman11) February 25, 2025
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Turns Out He Knew What He Was Talking About
Ridley went on to point out that he successfully dropped to 220 after Bill Belichick shipped him off to fat camp and became “quick as a cat” after that.
“Once I got to that playing weight, I’m like, ‘Hey, Bill knows what the hell he’s talking about,” Ridley affirmed.
Yeah, I’d say so. By the time Ridley lumbered into town, he already had five Super Bowl rings (two as an assistant, three as a head coach).
Ridley was part of a running back committee in his rookie season but had a break out season the following year. During the 2012 campaign, he rushed for 1,263 yards and 12 touchdowns, establishing himself as a key offensive player.
By 2013, he unfortunately started being plagued by fumbleitis and was benched. He suffered an injury the following season and was on injured reserve, though he was able to earn a Super Bowl ring when the Patriots that year defeated the Seattle Seahawks.
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