The bizarre tale of Marshawn Lynch, the AAF and 20,000 quarters

The sudden collapse of the AAF brought with it numerous side stories.

Many of them are sad, like players being left without a place to sleep and stuck with medical bills.

This one uncovered by Sports Illustrated’s “The MMQB” on Wednesday is most decidedly not sad. In fact, it’s safe to say that it qualifies as delightful.

And it stars Marshawn Lynch.

Marshawn reportedly crashed AAF draft

According to Conor Orr, Lynch — the former Oakland Raiders and Seattle Seahawks running back — crashed the league’s quarterback draft at a Las Vegas casino last November that saw his cousin Josh Johnson chosen as the No. 1 selection by the San Diego Fleet.

Since he was there, the AAF looked to attach itself to the high-profile athlete known for making a lasting impact on the rare occasions he does talk to the media — such as this eloquent and not-safe-for-work take on the benefits of running through an opponent’s face provided to “60 Minutes” in 2016.

The AAF decided to interview Lynch at the event. He agreed to sit down with the AAF for two minutes — for a price. That price was $5,000, according to the report.

I’ll take that $5K in quarters, please

But when the AAF presented Lynch with a check, he reportedly balked, asking that the payment be made entirely in quarters.

AAF co-founder Charlie Ebersol reportedly obliged and had 20,000 quarters delivered to Lynch’s hotel room.

The report begs the question, why? What plan did Lynch have in place for those quarters? He was in Vegas. But when was the last time anyone saw a slot or video poker machine that accepted actual quarters? Maybe he had big plans for an old-school video arcade.

But the real reason why can likely be chalked up to Lynch being Lynch. Because why wouldn’t he demand to be paid $5,000 in change?

What about the interview?

As for the interview? It never aired. Maybe the AAF had big plans for it prior to its sudden demise.

Here’s hoping somebody has the footage tucked away and decides to share it someday.

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