---
title: "NFL Player Takes $932 Uber from Chicago to Buffalo After Missing Flight"
description: "Making Shareece Wright the only man who's ever wanted to get to Buffalo that badly. (*rimshot*)"
date: "2017-06-09"
modified: "2017-06-09"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/11340/nfl-player-shareece-wright-takes-932-uber-from-chicago-to-buffalo-after-missing-flight"
categories:
  - "Car Tech"
  - "News"
tags:
  - "buffalo"
  - "chicago"
  - "NFL"
  - "road trip"
  - "Shareece Wright"
  - "Uber"
---

# NFL Player Takes $932 Uber from Chicago to Buffalo After Missing Flight

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/06/nfl-uber-driver-buffalo.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Uber has been [taking a beating](<https://www.thedrive.com/tech/11208/uber-fires-20-employees-following-workplace-sexual-harrassment-investigation>) in the court of public opinion these days—[and for good reason](<https://www.thedrive.com/tech/9605/apple-caught-uber-secretly-tracking-iphones-with-hidden-software>)—but even if something is rotten [in the state of Denmark](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamlet>), there are still good people on the ground driving for the company every day. So when driver Hadi Abdollahian realized his late-night passenger at Chicago O'Hare Airport wanted to go to Buffalo, *New York,* and not a nearby Buffalo Wild Wings, he didn't think twice.

"I promised him on the phone," Abdollahian [told *The Washington Post*,](<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/06/07/uber-from-chicago-to-buffalo-900-friendship-between-bills-player-and-driver-priceless/?utm_term=.8814c430f7b1>) “so I said, 'let's hit the road.'"

That decision continues to pay off for the 26-year-old Iranian refugee. His fare was none other than newly-minted Buffalo Bills cornerback Shareece Wright, who was desperate to make it to his new team's first voluntary off-season practice the next morning after missing his connecting flight in Chicago. He had already been turned down by two other Uber drivers, but the third time was the charm for the NFL veteran.

The odd couple left the airport at approximately 11 p.m. on Sunday night and drove in Abdollahian's Nissan Altima for almost eight hours and 500 miles along I-90, arriving at the Bills' practice facility in Orchard Park, New York with just minutes to spare before the team's 7 a.m. meeting. Wright managed to catch some shuteye, but the two also spent hours getting to know each other.

"He introduced himself and said he was a football player," Abdollahian said, [according to *ESPN*.](<https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/19574566/shareece-wright-uber-driver-thought-was-taking-buffalo-bills-db-buffalo-wild-wings>) "He starts talking about his family and kids. He was really an amazing guy. I loved his company. We had a great time."

https://twitter.com/_/status/872192147209846784

As you might expect, the door-to-door service didn't come cheap—Wright tweeted a picture of the receipt showing a $632.08 charge, and he was so thankful for the lift that he added a $300 tip on top of that. Once the story started to spread, Buffalo Bills sponsor BlueRock Energy [decided to send Abdollahian a check matching](<https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bluerock-energy-rewards-shareece-wrights-uber-driver-with-93208-300470650.html>) the entire $932.08 fare, and Nissan reached out [to offer his trusty Altima a free full service.](<https://twitter.com/hadiabdollahian/status/872972182829367297>)

Abdollahian, who will use the money to help pay off student loans, is just grateful for the experience.

"Honestly, I'm more excited...because of Mr. Wright," Abdollahian told *ESPN*. "I'm his friend just for taking him to New York. This is more than enough for me."

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)