How 49ers defensive linemen feast on group dinners, opposing QBs alike

The 49ers' defensive line has been eating, and not solely in the sense of devouring opposing quarterbacks.

All season, San Francisco's D-linemen has gone out for group dinners the night before games, and the destination, more often than not, is a fancy steakhouse.

Dee Ford signed a five-year, $87.5 million contract in March. DeForest Buckner and Arik Armstead are due lucrative extensions. As the No. 2 overall pick from the 2019 NFL Draft, Nick Bosa will make $33.55 million over the course of his rookie deal.

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Suffice to say, numerous players are capable of picking up the tab. But that's not how it goes down.

Instead, who pays the bill is decided by a good old-fashioned game of credit-card roulette.

"It’s a thrill," Ford described to The Athletic's Matt Barrows.

Defensive tackle D.J. Jones, who's making $645,000 this season, has a different perspective: "It's a near heart attack."

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Here's how it works: Each defensive linemen puts down a credit card. The waiter or waitress then puts all credit cards in a bag, and proceeds to remove them one by one. The owner of the last credit card remaining is the person who pays.

Buckner organizes the weekly dinners, but not all linemen are subject to inclusion in the game. Practice-squad players Kevin Givens and Jeremiah Valoaga, for instance, are exempt. If the bill is exceptionally large, multiple linemen often will chip in to pay.

So, who's the unluckiest? That would be Bosa. Of the four roulette games so far, he has ended up with the bill twice. Of course, he can afford it.

"We rigged the rules for the rookie," Ford told Barrows. "He's good for it."

The bills Bosa has been stuck with haven't been too obscene, though. "Maybe around $800," Ford estimated as the highest bill anyone has paid.

Bills have come due for opposing QBs, though, and the 49ers' D-line will continue to make them pay, as the team ranks fourth in the NFL with 27 sacks.