While it sounds like a prerequisite for being a professional athlete, Courtney Upshaw needed a little incentive to get in shape.
The Ravens rookie outside linebacker was drawing regular fines, until he got his weight under control. Now, he’s below his target weight of 270 pounds, but came to camp over 280, which led to his wallet being lighter.
“I didn’t even look at the fines,” Upshaw said, via Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. “I just knew they were taking my money. That started getting me down.”
He lost nearly $20,000 for being overweight, but has dieted and exercised his way back into good standing. He actually failed the pre-camp conditioning test before passing it on the second try.
“Of course, I came in heavy,” Upshaw said. “It was eating at night that was killing me.”
Upshaw hasn’t made a huge impact this season, with half a sack and a fumble recovery to go with 29 tackles.
“When I’m out there, I want to go through the game and I’m thinking, ‘I haven’t made a tackle yet,’ and I want to get an assist here and there,” Upshaw said. “It’s motivation for me.
“When I’m out there on the field, I’m not even thinking about that. I want to make plays. I’m not out there just to be out there.”
Now that there’s less of him out there, maybe he will do more.
