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Off-season or not, a player didn't ignore a summons from the team owner.
Xavier Brennan walked through the halls of the Philadelphia Frenzy's facility, not quite ready to be back. The losing season—one of the worst in team history—was still too fresh in his mind.
Three months post-season, the sting had begun to fade. Time to focus on the future.
What could Mr. Mills possibly want to discuss? It was barely the beginning of May. Mandatory mini-camp and training camp were still months away. His contract was already squared away. Unless the owner wanted to talk more about those losses. Although, their abysmal record and how the football team could do better during the next season had already been discussed incessantly by his teammates, the front office, the fans, and football commentators everywhere.
The five teammates waiting outside Mills' office piqued his curiosity further. An odd mix: a linebacker, a wide receiver, a running back, a quarterback, a safety. And himself. Why would Mills want to see all of them?
"Boys." He nodded at the group. "Anyone have any idea what's going on?"
Everson Montgomery—linebacker, his best friend on the team, and his brother's boyfriend—shrugged. "Don't know. Didn't realize you got the call too."
The office door opened and Mr. Mills waved them inside the plush room. "Gentlemen. I guess you're wondering why I asked you to come in."
Xavier let Tyson Williams enter first. The quarterback was their leader. But he sat right beside him in front of Mills' desk. Sinking into the soft leather chair, he addressed Mills with an easy smile. "Let me guess. You missed us?"
Laughing, Mr. Mills leaned forward, tapping his pen on the desk blotter. "Not quite. I've been in talks with Food TV. As you may or may not know, my daughter is vice president of programming there. They'll be here in Philly broadcasting live during the Food and Wine Festival in June. They'd already planned to hold a baking competition, and they reached out to the league and me to make it even better. That's where you come in."
"A baking competition?" Xavier stared at the owner in disbelief. "I'm a tight end, not a baker. I couldn't bake a cake even if Betty Crocker herself was helping me and doing half the work."
Most of his teammates echoed his statement. But Mills held up a hand, pausing their protests. "It's for a good cause. They're partnering with Cakes Against Cancer, and each of you will be paired up with a professional baker."
"But, why did you pick us?" He jerked his thumb to his right to include his fellow teammates.
"Out of everyone on the team, you're the ones who are involved with specific charities, or you have your own foundations, and frankly, you choose to live here year-round. We'll have thirteen players taking part. My secretary is contacting your other teammates to see who can be in the city during the competition. We do realize it's the off-season and a lot of you are resting up or taking vacations or may just want a break from anything team-related right now. One-hundred-thousand dollars will go to the winning team. Fifty thousand will go to the winning bakery and fifty thousand to your foundation or the charity of your choice."
"If it's for charity, I'm in." As uncomfortable as it would make him, he'd do it. Fifty grand could do a lot of good. "What do we have to do?"
"There will be three rounds spread out over a long weekend. The festival runs Thursday through Sunday." Mr. Mills glanced at the paperwork on his desk. "The network has selected the local bakeries that will be working with you. The bakers had to film a short video to audition, and are still waiting to see if they've made the final cut. I tried to make it as easy as I could for you. My secretary figured out which bakery was the closest to each of your homes and paired you up that way."
Xavier sat back, letting his teammates ask questions. Losing eleven games the previous season hadn't sat well with the fans. Or the team. Maybe the competition would help in that regard too. Some fun and fluff to take out the sting. And participating in something unique like this was a good team-building activity. He glanced around the room. His teammates were stand-up guys on and off the field. Working on something together wouldn't be an issue. No divas or problem teammates here. "You said they'll be filming this?"
Mr. Mills nodded. "It'll be broadcast live during the festival. The network will also include it in their line up a few times during the first week of the new season."
A baking competition on a channel geared toward foodies wasn't quite the same as landing a national endorsement deal, but the chance to reach millions of people who otherwise might not be watching him on any given Sunday, and talk about his foundation and donations for cancer research, there wasn't any downside. Unless he embarrassed himself. He was known for having great hands on the field. What if those skills didn't transfer to the kitchen? Saying yes right away, before he'd had all the details, suddenly didn't seem like the brightest idea. "A live broadcast doesn't leave any room for errors."
Tyson elbowed him in the arm. The veteran player's eyes were brimming with humor. "Relax. Most people wouldn't expect a pro athlete to be good at baking."
"Exactly," Mr. Mills agreed. "This is an easy way to hopefully grow our fan base and help you gain exposure for your charities and foundations."
His teammates were all signing on and saying yes. And a side bet between a few of them was already taking place. No one else seemed worried. But then again, no one else in the room had experienced clawing their way back from nearly ruining their reputation and their football career. "All right. Let's do it."
Mr. Mills passed out sheets of paper. "The network also thought it would be, and I quote, fun if each player would either call their bakery partner or show up at their stores to surprise them with the news that they're a finalist. You'll find their contact information on this list."
Xavier scanned the list for his name. "I'll be working with Ashley Yates of Bliss Bakery."
Cute name. After the season they'd had, he could use some bliss.
"If you can, make the call or stop by today or tomorrow. The network will be contacting them as well with an official statement. All information will be on Food TV's site by the end of the week." Mr. Mills stood, signaling the end of the meeting. "Thank you, gentlemen. Your commitment to this team hasn't gone unnoticed."
Pocketing the paper, Xavier walked out with Tyson and Everson. "Well, I wasn't expecting that at all."
"I know. I'm just glad Mills wasn't chewing us out for something." Tyson palmed his keys, confident as always. "What's the worst that could happen? We could win some dough, and we get to play with dough for a few days."
Xavier wasn't convinced. "Or we could burn what we're making and set fire to the Convention Center."
Everson tossed a friendly arm over his shoulder. "No publicity is bad publicity, right?"
"Not sure about that." He followed them out of the building and into the spring sunshine. The contact information for Bliss Bakery burned a hole in his pocket and discomfort pricked like a needle along his skin. He wouldn't feel better until he learned more about the baker selected as his partner. Or how she felt about having an extra cook, namely him, in her kitchen.
More than anything, he needed to do well. A win would be a big success for his foundation. That prize money would go a long way, and he needed all the help he could get.
Time would only tell whether taking part in the competition would be a recipe for success or end in disaster.
