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It must be nice to become a millionaire virtually overnight.
That just happened to DeForest Buckner, the former Punahou then Oregon Ducks football standout, who was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers and will be paid $18 million over four years.
Other players with Hawaii ties drafted into the NFL last week and who will be making a good chunk of money were Kamalei Correa, a Saint Louis School grad who played for Boise State and now is with the Baltimore Ravens; and Kamu Grugier-Hill, formerly of Kamehameha Schools and now with the New England Patriots.
Joining the NFL under free-agent contracts were former University of Hawaii offensive lineman Ben Clarke, selected by the Kansas City Chiefs; former UH quarterback Max Wittek, now with the Jacksonville Jaguars; and Kaimi Fairbairn, a Punahou alum then a place-kicker for UCLA, who signed with the Houston Texans.
Truth be told, these young men are not really overnight successes. It took years of preparation and hard work, and for that we applaud them. Oh, and BTW, got any spare change?