1. Ryan David Leaf was born on May 15,1976 and is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for four seasons in the National Football League.
59 Facts About Ryan Leaf
1. 2.
Ryan Leaf played for the San Diego Chargers and the Dallas Cowboys between 1998 and 2001, and played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Seattle Seahawks.
3.
Ryan Leaf was selected as the second overall pick by the San Diego Chargers in the 1998 NFL draft after Peyton Manning, but his career was shortened due to poor play, bad behavior, injuries, and struggles with his work ethic and ability to stay focused.
4.
Ryan Leaf had legal troubles involving drugs beginning in 2010 when a Texas judge sentenced him to 10 years' probation.
5.
Two years later, Ryan Leaf pleaded guilty to felony burglary and drug possession in Montana.
6.
On September 9,2014, Ryan Leaf was sentenced in Texas to five years in prison for violating his Texas probation by committing the robbery in Montana, but he never served time for this due to receiving credit for time served.
7.
Ryan Leaf was released from prison in Montana on December 3,2014.
8.
Ryan Leaf has worked as a Program Ambassador for Transcend Recovery Community, a group of sober living houses in Los Angeles, Houston, and New York.
9.
Ryan Leaf chose to be a quarterback for the Washington State Cougars instead after head coach Mike Price, who had coached longtime New England Patriots starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe, called him on the phone while Leaf was watching the Rose Bowl, and told him "If you come here, we're going there".
10.
Ryan Leaf did not know that Washington State had not reached the Rose Bowl since 1931, but later told Sports Illustrated that he immediately knew he wanted to accept a scholarship and play for Price.
11.
Ryan Leaf played in 32 games for Washington State, starting 24 of them.
12.
Ryan Leaf led the Cougars to their first Pac-10 championship in school history.
13.
Ryan Leaf was a finalist in balloting for the Heisman Trophy that year, which is given annually to the "most outstanding" player in American college football voted in by media figures and former players.
14.
Ryan Leaf finished third behind the winner, defensive back Charles Woodson of Michigan, and fellow quarterback Peyton Manning of Tennessee.
15.
Ryan Leaf was named Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year and was part of the All-Conference team.
16.
Ryan Leaf was named first-team All-America by The Sporting News while finishing second in the nation in passer rating.
17.
The Rose Bowl helped make him a possible first overall selection in the NFL draft, and Ryan Leaf decided to forgo his senior year at Washington State and enter the 1998 draft.
18.
Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf were widely considered to be the two best players available in the 1998 NFL draft, and scouts and analysts debated who should be selected first.
19.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Tony Dungy recalled that although his team did not need a quarterback, "Manning-Ryan Leaf was really split when you talked to people".
20.
Ryan Leaf's team needed a new quarterback after having scored the fewest touchdowns in the league in the previous season.
21.
San Diego's high hopes for Ryan Leaf were soon dashed as his rookie season was marred by poor behavior, starting with skipping the final day of a symposium mandatory for all NFL draftees and incurring a $10,000 fine.
22.
Ryan Leaf nonetheless did well in the preseason and the start of the regular season, as the Chargers won their first two games.
23.
Ryan Leaf related poorly to both the media and his teammates, whom he tended to blame for his poor play, and developed a reputation for a poor work ethic, such as playing golf while other quarterbacks were studying film.
24.
Ryan Leaf suffered an injury to his throwing shoulder 20 minutes into the Chargers' opening training camp workout on July 23,1999.
25.
One month later, a fan heckled Ryan Leaf by singing lyrics from the Little River Band song "Lonesome Loser" and comparing him to failed NFL quarterback Heath Shuler.
26.
Ryan Leaf underwent surgery to fix a labral tear in his shoulder and missed the 1999 season.
27.
Ryan Leaf started the first two games of the 2000 season but completed less than half of his pass attempts and threw five interceptions against only one touchdown.
28.
Ryan Leaf suffered swelling in his left hand in addition to a chin gash that required stitches following a late hit from Raiders defensive tackle Regan Upshaw.
29.
Head coach Mike Riley planned to start backup Moses Moreno in Week 3, but Ryan Leaf started after Moreno suffered a shoulder injury.
30.
Ryan Leaf threw an interception on his fourth snap, led a touchdown drive in the Chargers' next series, and left the game with nearly a minute to go after straining a hamstring on a scramble.
31.
On first down miscommunication between Ryan Leaf and running back Jermaine Fazande resulted in a fumble and 8-yard loss, and the next two plays followed by a penalty forced a fourth down and goal 10 yards from the end zone, and Ryan Leaf's fourth-down pass was incomplete.
32.
On March 2,2001, two days after the Chargers released him, Ryan Leaf was claimed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who were intrigued by his physical talent and planned to develop him more slowly, giving him time to watch and learn.
33.
Ryan Leaf's wrist had still not healed, and doctors recommended surgery.
34.
Ryan Leaf refused, and was released on September 3, five days before the start of the 2001 season.
35.
Days later, Ryan Leaf got still another chance when the Seattle Seahawks signed him to a one-year contract, planning to let him develop slowly to allow his still-injured wrist time to heal.
36.
Ryan Leaf attended the team's spring minicamps and seemed upbeat about his new team, but then abruptly retired at the age of 26 just before the start of the Seahawks' 2002 training camp, offering no explanation at first.
37.
Seahawks head coach and general manager Mike Holmgren told the media Ryan Leaf's wrist did not bother him with either the Cowboys or the Seahawks.
38.
Ryan Leaf completed 317 of 655 passes for 3,666 yards, with 14 touchdowns and 36 interceptions and a career quarterback rating of 50.0.
39.
Dish Network included Ryan Leaf in their 2015 "Biggest NFL Bust Bracket" where he was a "1 Seed" along with fellow busts JaMarcus Russell, Tony Mandarich, and David Carr.
40.
Ryan Leaf went on to state that Manziel is able to get the help he needs.
41.
In 2004, Ryan Leaf resumed his education at Washington State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in humanities in May 2005.
42.
Ryan Leaf described the event as what "started about an eight-year run of off-and-on opioid abuse that took my life to the very bottom".
43.
Ryan Leaf wrote nine columns that football season and his work attracted a strong following among Washington State fans.
44.
Ryan Leaf has a radio show and works as a college football analyst on television for the Pac-12 Network.
45.
Ryan Leaf has worked as an analyst for select weeks of Westwood One's Sunday night Football since the 2021 season and as a Sideline Reporter for the NFL Playoffs on Westwood One.
46.
Ryan Leaf has appeared as an analyst in the show NFL overtime on Sky Sports in the UK during the 2021 season.
47.
Ryan Leaf joined The CW broadcast team in 2024 and called Pac-12 games.
48.
In 2001, Ryan Leaf married Nicole Lucia, a Charger cheerleader and daughter of financial radio host Ray Lucia.
49.
In September 2010, the Associated Press reported that Ryan Leaf was spending time with his family in Montana.
50.
In May 2009, Ryan Leaf was indicted on burglary and controlled substance charges in Texas.
51.
Ryan Leaf was in a drug-rehabilitation program in British Columbia, Canada at the time of the indictment and was arrested by customs agents at the border on his return to the US as he was intending to fly to Texas to surrender on the indictment.
52.
However, his attorney Jeffrey A Lustick successfully blocked the fugitive warrant extradition process, therefore legally allowing Leaf to go to Texas on his own.
53.
Lustick later successfully got the Washington fugitive action against Ryan Leaf dismissed with prejudice.
54.
On June 19,2012, Ryan Leaf was sentenced to seven years in custody of the Montana Department of Corrections, with two years suspended if he abided by the conditions imposed by District Judge Kenneth Neil in Montana.
55.
Ryan Leaf was to spend the first nine months of his sentence in a lockdown addiction treatment facility, Nexus Treatment Center in Lewistown, Montana.
56.
Ryan Leaf was accused of threatening a program staff member.
57.
In May 2014, Ryan Leaf was incarcerated at Crossroads Correctional Facility in Shelby, Montana.
58.
On December 3,2014, Ryan Leaf was released from prison and placed under the supervision of Great Falls Probation and Parole.
59.
On May 22,2020, Ryan Leaf was arrested for misdemeanor domestic battery in Palm Desert, California.