Big bucks and birdies: It was a banner day for Cardinals’ Trey McBride

TEMPE — Golf is already hard as it is without outside distractions.

A shot can get real sideways real quick when a car horn blasts in your backswing.

Getting a multi-million-dollar phone call mid-round? That’s grounds for smashing the eject button on the round altogether.

That is unless your Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride, who still managed to fire a solid 81 despite the news of his contract extension that makes him the highest paid tight end in NFL history, a flood of congratulatory calls and texts and teammate Zaven Collins adding a couple more strokes to the scorecard.

It was a banner day for Trey McBride yesterday:

– Contract extension ✅
– Career low on the golf course ✅

(And yes, he beat @ZavenCollins) 😂 pic.twitter.com/IEk9PBGwN0

— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) April 4, 2025

“My beats per minute were probably up a ton, but I actually played one of the best rounds I’ve ever played,” McBride said Friday. “Chipped in from off the green, was doing birdies all over. I’ve never golfed that well in my life. Maybe it was high stress or no stress. I don’t know what it was, but I was playing really well.

“I had to take one hole off for the phone call, but Zaven gave me a double bogey on that hole because I picked up,” the tight end added.

While McBride will have to think about the 79 that wasn’t (come on now, Collins), one thing he doesn’t have to mentally keep tabs on is the four-year extension he signed.

That alone is worth its weight in gold (or $76 million).

But add in the mountain McBride has climbed since coming aboard as a second-round pick in 2022 — going from hardly seeing the field to a feature weapon — and the extension hits home in a whole other way.

“It’s happy tears for sure.”

An emotional Trey McBride on what his contract extension with the Cardinals means for the tight end. pic.twitter.com/yV6b84B2ae

— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) April 4, 2025

“It’s been a journey. There’s no doubt about it,” McBride said before getting choked up. “I come in, I’m the first tight end taken and I hardly play my first year. I had 29 catches and it was a rocky rookie year. I didn’t play as much as I wanted to, but I really kept my head down and I kept grinding.

“I kept working hard. I knew my opportunity was going to come and when it came, I knew I had to seize it. I feel like that’s exactly what I did. I just put the work in every day. I put the work in over time. To finally reap the rewards is exciting.”

Being able to continue to see this thing through with the Cardinals isn’t lost on McBride, either, especially given the team’s current trajectory.

“Honestly, the money’s great, but I want to win,” McBride told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo. “That’s more important to me. I want to be here. I want to take this franchise to the next level and I think we’re on the right track of doing that and I’m excited to see where we can go the next few years.”

What does it mean to Trey McBride (@mcbtrey) to be the highest paid tight end in NFL history?

Full interview: https://t.co/sga7zfANB5 pic.twitter.com/bTxjhHOuyx

— The Burns & Gambo Show (@BurnsAndGambo) April 4, 2025

The only bummer to Cardinals TE Trey McBride’s banner day

It was a huge day for McBride.

The only bummer?

Not getting to tell his family first.

“I didn’t think it would get leaked as fast as it did. I thought I had a little bit of time to call my family, to call my parents, to call my brother to celebrate with them a little bit. Unfortunately, it got out before I was able to call them.

“My first phone call to my mom she had already known the news, so that was a little disappointing for her, but they’re excited for me. Just a great moment for not only me, but my family as well. So, to celebrate with them, to enjoy this huge accomplishment with them is very special.”

That’s the NFL news cycle for you.

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