Ryan Leaf facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Ryan Leaf

Leaf in 2018
No. 16
Position:	Quarterback
Personal information
Born:	(1976-05-15) May 15, 1976 (age 49) Great Falls, Montana, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:	235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High school:	Charles M. Russell (Great Falls, Montana)
College:	Washington State (1995–1997)
NFL Draft:	1998 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2
Career history
As player:
San Diego Chargers (1998) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2001)* Dallas Cowboys (2001) Seattle Seahawks (2002)*
As coach:
West Texas A&M (2006–2008) Quarterbacks coach
Career highlights and awards
First-team All-American (1997) Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year (1997) First-team All-Pac-10 (1997) Sammy Baugh Trophy (1997)
Career NFL statistics
Pass attempts: 655 Pass completions: 317 Completion percentage: 48.4% TD–INT: 14–36 Passing yards: 3,666 Passer rating: 50.0
Player stats at PFR

Ryan David Leaf (born May 15, 1976) is a former American football player. He was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons. He played for the San Diego Chargers and the Dallas Cowboys. He also spent time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Seattle Seahawks.

Leaf played college football for the Washington State Cougars. He was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy in his junior year. He was chosen as the second overall pick in the 1998 NFL draft by the San Diego Chargers. This was right after Peyton Manning was picked first.

After his football career, Ryan Leaf became a Program Ambassador for Transcend Recovery Community. This group helps people in Los Angeles, Houston, and New York. He also hosts a radio show and works as a college football analyst on television.

Ryan Leaf: A Football Story

College Football Star

Ryan Leaf played high school football at Charles M. Russell High School in Great Falls, Montana. He led his team to a state title in 1992. He later chose to play quarterback for the Washington State Cougars. Their coach, Mike Price, had coached Drew Bledsoe, a famous quarterback. Coach Price told Leaf, "If you come here, we're going there," meaning the Rose Bowl. Leaf was excited and accepted a scholarship.

He played 32 games for Washington State, starting 24 of them. In his junior year, he threw for a record 33 touchdowns in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10). He also led the Cougars to their first Pac-10 championship ever. Washington State played in the 1998 Rose Bowl but lost to the Michigan Wolverines 21–16.

That year, Leaf was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. This award goes to the best college football player. He finished third, behind Charles Woodson and Peyton Manning. He was named Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year. He was also named a first-team All-American. After this successful year, Leaf decided to enter the 1998 NFL Draft early.

Amazing College Stats

Here are Ryan Leaf's college football statistics:

Joining the NFL

The 1998 NFL Draft

Ryan Leaf and Peyton Manning were seen as the top two players in the 1998 NFL Draft. Many experts debated who should be picked first. Some liked Leaf's strong arm and potential. Others thought Manning was more mature and a safer choice.

The Indianapolis Colts had the first pick. They chose Peyton Manning. The San Diego Chargers had the third pick. They really wanted one of the top two quarterbacks. To get the second pick from the Arizona Cardinals, San Diego traded several draft picks and a player. This ensured they could draft whoever the Colts didn't pick. So, Manning went first, and Leaf went second to the Chargers.

The Chargers signed Leaf to a big four-year contract. It was worth $31.25 million, with a guaranteed $11.25 million bonus. This was the largest bonus ever paid to a rookie at that time. Leaf was very confident, saying he looked forward to a "15-year career, a couple of trips to the Super Bowl, and a parade through downtown San Diego."

Playing for the Chargers

The Chargers had high hopes for Leaf in his rookie season (1998). They won their first two games. In the first game, Leaf threw a 6-yard touchdown pass. However, he also made mistakes like fumbling and throwing interceptions. In a game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Leaf struggled and was later seen shouting at a reporter. He apologized for this incident.

Leaf was benched in Week 4 after throwing four interceptions. He later lost his starting job permanently. He finished his rookie season with 1,289 passing yards. He had only two touchdowns but threw fifteen interceptions. His performance was not what the team expected.

In 1999, Leaf suffered a shoulder injury and missed the entire season. He had surgery to fix a tear in his shoulder.

He returned in the 2000 season. He started the first two games but struggled again. He completed less than half his passes and threw five interceptions. He also had a wrist injury that made him miss several games. The Chargers had a tough season, finishing with only one win and fifteen losses. After the season, the Chargers released Leaf on February 28, 2001. In his three seasons with the Chargers, he won only four of 18 games he started. He threw 13 touchdowns and 33 interceptions.

Moving to Other Teams

After being released by the Chargers, Leaf was picked up by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in March 2001. They hoped to help him develop slowly. However, his wrist was still injured, and he was released before the season started.

His next chance was with the Dallas Cowboys. He signed with them in October 2001. He played in four games for the Cowboys, all of which were losses. He threw for 494 yards, with one touchdown and three interceptions. The Cowboys released him in May 2002.

Days later, the Seattle Seahawks signed him. They also planned to let him heal and develop. Leaf seemed positive about his new team. But he suddenly retired at age 26 before the 2002 training camp began. He didn't give a reason at first.

Life After Playing

During his NFL career, Ryan Leaf played in 25 games and started 21. He completed 317 of 655 passes (48.4%) for 3,666 yards. He had 14 touchdowns and 36 interceptions. His career quarterback rating was 50.0.

Many sports writers have called Ryan Leaf one of the biggest "draft busts" in sports history. A "draft bust" is a player who was picked very high in the draft but did not perform well. Despite this, some good came from the Chargers drafting Leaf. It helped them get high draft picks later, which they used to draft great players like LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, and Philip Rivers.

In 2016, Leaf compared his own struggles to those of another quarterback, Johnny Manziel. He said it was like "looking in the mirror." Leaf also mentioned that Archie Manning (Peyton Manning's father) asked Leaf's father about his experience with the Chargers. This conversation may have influenced why Peyton's brother, Eli Manning, later refused to play for the Chargers and was traded to the New York Giants.

Becoming a Coach and Author

After retiring from football, Ryan Leaf became a financial consultant. In 2004, he went back to Washington State University. He graduated in May 2005 with a degree in humanities.

In 2006, he became a volunteer quarterbacks coach for West Texas A&M University. He said he wanted to get back to college, where he had the best time of his life. He also admitted he wasn't ready for the NFL when he was drafted. In April 2008, he felt he had come to terms with his past. He said, "When playing football became a job, it lost its luster for me. I kind of got out of the spotlight, and life's never been this good."

In September 2010, he started writing a column about Washington State University football for Cougfan.com. He also signed a contract to write at least three memoirs. His first book, 596 Switch: The Improbable Journey from The Palouse to Pasadena, came out in October 2011. It's about the 1997 Washington State football team that played in the Rose Bowl.

Helping Others and TV Work

As of 2018, Ryan Leaf works as a Program Ambassador for Transcend Recovery Community. This group helps people in Houston, New York, and Los Angeles. He also started a foundation called the Focus Intensity Foundation. This foundation raises money to help people pay for mental health treatment. He wrote an article for The Players' Tribune called "Letter to My Younger Self." In it, he talked about his NFL career and his life afterward.

Leaf also has a radio show and works as a college football analyst on television for the Pac-12 Network. In July 2019, ESPN hired him as an analyst for college football games. He has also worked as an analyst for Westwood One's Sunday night Football and as a Sideline Reporter for the NFL Playoffs. In 2021, he appeared on Sky Sports in the UK. In 2024, Leaf joined The CW broadcast team to call Pac-12 games.

NFL Career Numbers

Here are Ryan Leaf's NFL career statistics:

Personal Life

Ryan Leaf married Nicole Lucia in 2001. She was a cheerleader for the Chargers. His younger brother, Brady Leaf, also played quarterback for the Oregon Ducks football team. In September 2010, it was reported that Leaf was spending time with his family in Montana.

See also

• List of college football yearly passing leaders
• JaMarcus Russell