Davante Adams recalls a hilarious story from his brief stint with the New York Jets — with one lesson every NFL rookie should know
“I went straight to Woody” — This New York Jets story perfectly sums up why one youngster never panned out.
There’s not a lot of fond memories of the Aaron Rodgers/Davante Adams tenure with the New York Jets.
The team appeared to finally be aligning for a competitive run, but the team peaked at 5-12 in 2024. The aftermath has been yet another dramatic reset and a tough start to a new era. But there is one gift that the Jets’ swing for the fences has given us — the story of Adams attempting to secure the number 17 from then-rookie wide receiver Malachi Corley. Adams got the number. And Corley got a valuable…or should I say costly…lesson.
Former New York Jets receiver Davante Adams recalls hilarious exchange with Malachi Corley
“I came in with my backpack, it was the off day, Tuesday. So a couple of guys were in there, I’m looking for him. I’ve got $17,000 cash in my backpack and I’m thinking like, this ain’t nothing crazy but certainly to give up your number as a rookie. You ain’t did shit yet. It was Week 6 and I think he’d played four plays at that point. I’m like ‘you have no attachment to this right now’…he said, ‘It’s great to have you big bro, I can’t wait to learn from you but I’m gonna need a million.’
So I went straight to (team owner) Woody (Johnson) and said ‘Give me 17, bro.’ And he just took it off of him.”
— Former New York Jets wide receiver Davante Adams on his run-in with Malachi Corley
Oof. Tough scenes for Corley, who ultimately got the number stripped off of him for no compensation. Corley’s NFL tenure hasn’t necessarily gotten much better since the involuntary number change, either. He’s currently on the Cleveland Browns, who drafted two wide receivers in the top-50 of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Corley, by the way, also has yet to log 17 career receptions through his first two seasons in the league. That’s a tough lesson to have to learn the hard way. But it’s probably safe to assume if another accomplished veteran comes to him throughout the rest of his career looking to buy his number, Corley will be a little bit more receptive to playing ball.
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