text: ryan leaf ryan david leaf ( born may 15 , 1976 ) is a former american football player who was a quarterback in the national football league ( nfl ) for four seasons . he played for the san diego chargers and the dallas cowboys between 1998 and 2001 , and also spent time with the tampa bay buccaneers and the seattle seahawks . leaf had a successful college career for the washington state cougars of washington state university , where he was a finalist for the heisman trophy after his junior year . he was selected as the second overall pick in the 1998 nfl draft , but his career was short and interrupted by poor play , bad behavior , and injuries . he struggled to stay focused . an episode of nfl top 10 ranked him as the no. 1 " draft bust " in nfl history . after his nfl career ended , leaf completed his degree at washington state . he would later have legal troubles involving drugs beginning in 2010 , after a texas judge sentenced him to 10 years ' probation . two years later , leaf pleaded guilty to felony burglary and drug possession in montana . after a suspended sentence with a stint in drug rehabilitation , leaf began serving a seven - year sentence in state prison in december 2012 . in 2014 , leaf was sentenced to five years in prison for breaking into a home in montana to steal prescription drugs , which violated his texas probation . he was released from prison on december 3 , 2014 . college career after leading charles m. russell high school in great falls , montana to the 1992 montana state title , he considered playing college football as a linebacker at the university of miami . he 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 " even though washington state had not reached the rose bowl since 1931 . leaf told sports illustrated that he immediately knew he wanted to accept a scholarship and play for price . he played in 32 games for washington state , starting 24 of them . in his junior year , he averaged 330 . 6 yards passing per game and threw for a then pacific - 10 conference ( pac - 10 ) record 33 touchdowns . he also led the cougars to their first pac - 10 championship in school history . despite his strong early showing in the 1998 rose bowl , washington state was defeated 21 – 16 by the eventual associated press national champion michigan wolverines . 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 . he finished third behind the winner , defensive back charles woodson of michigan , and fellow quarterback peyton manning of tennessee . he was named pac - 10 offensive player of the year , was named first - team all - american by the sporting news , and finished second in the nation in passer rating . the rose bowl helped make him a possible first overall selection in the nfl draft , and leaf decided to forgo his senior year at washington state and enter the 1998 draft . nfl career 1998 draft peyton manning and leaf were widely considered the two best players available in the 1998 draft , and scouts and analysts debated who should be selected first . many favored leaf 's stronger arm and greater potential , while others deemed manning the more mature player and the safer pick . most observers , however , believed that it would not greatly matter whether manning or leaf was drafted first because either would greatly benefit his team . the indianapolis colts owned the first draft pick that year . team scouts favored leaf , but colts president bill polian and coaching staff preferred manning , especially after discovering during individual workouts that he could throw harder than leaf . manning also impressed the team during his interview , while leaf missed his . leaf 's draft prospect profile described the player as " self - confident to the point where some people view him as being arrogant and almost obnoxious " . leaf gained about 20 pounds between the end of his junior season and the nfl combine in february , which jerry angelo , one of six experts sports illustrated consulted on the choice , described as " a [ negative ] signal " about his self - discipline . all six believed that manning was the better choice , but the magazine concluded " what does seem reasonably certain is that ... both manning and leaf should develop into at least good nfl starters " . the san diego chargers needed a new quarterback after having scored the fewest touchdowns in the league in the previous season . to obtain the second draft pick , the team traded its third overall pick , a future first round pick , a second round pick , and three - time pro bowler eric metcalf to the arizona cardinals , guaranteeing the chargers the right to draft whichever of the two quarterbacks indianapolis did not take first . manning was drafted first by the colts and leaf second by the chargers , who signed him to a four - year contract worth $ 31 . 25 million , including a guaranteed $ 11 . 25 million signing bonus , the largest ever paid to a rookie at the time . leaf said , " i 'm looking forward to a 15 - year career , a couple of trips to the super bowl , and a parade through downtown san diego . " the night after the draft , leaf flew to las vegas , nevada on the jet of chargers owner alex spanos and partied all night ; the following day leaf during his first news conference . san diego chargers ( 1998 – 2000 ) 1998 season san diego 's high hopes for leaf were soon dashed , as his rookie season was marred by poor behavior . before the season started , he skipped the final day of a symposium mandatory for all nfl draftees and was fined $ 10 , 000 . leaf did well in the preseason and led the chargers to victory in the first two regular - season games . the chargers won the season opener on september 6 , 1998 , 16 – 14 over the buffalo bills despite mistakes from leaf such as fumbling his first snap and throwing two interceptions ; buffalo penalties voided two would - be interceptions from leaf . in the game , leaf 's 6 - yard touchdown pass to bryan still that followed a 67 - yard pass to still gave san diego a 10 – 0 lead . however , late in the game , san diego fell behind 14 – 13 after a leaf interception . leaf completed 16 of 31 passes for 192 yards in the opener and 13 of 24 passes for 179 yards ( with 31 rushing yards in 7 carries ) in the second game , a 13 – 7 win over the tennessee oilers . in the third game of the season on september 20 , leaf completed only one of 15 passes for four yards , threw two interceptions and fumbled four times ( losing three ) in a loss to the kansas city chiefs . the thursday before that game , leaf was hospitalized for a viral infection . leaf later said that infected turf fibers entered his skin and lymph glands . after leaf threw four interceptions in the first half against the new york giants in the week 4 game ( september 28 ) , coach kevin benched leaf in favor of craig . the following game on october 4 against the indianapolis colts matched leaf against the number one 1998 draft pick peyton manning . indianapolis won 17 – 12 , as both quarterbacks completed 12 of 23 passes with an interception each , but leaf threw for 160 yards ( 23 more than manning ) , and only manning threw a touchdown . manning was never sacked ; leaf was sacked four times . inside the final two minutes and san diego down 14 – 6 , leaf 's 56 - yard pass to charlie jones set up a one - yard means touchdown run , but leaf 's potential tying two - point conversion pass to webster slaughter was incomplete . replaced leaf on november 8 after leaf completed only 4 of 15 passes and became starter on a permanent basis afterwards . leaf finished the season having played 10 games with 1 , 289 passing yards , 45 . 3 % completed passes , 2 touchdowns , and 15 interceptions , with an abysmally poor quarterback rating of 39 . 0 . leaf related poorly to both the media and his teammates , whom he tended to blame for his poor play . in a locker - room incident during leaf 's rookie year , he was caught on camera screaming at san diego union tribune reporter jay posner , and was physically restrained by junior . he soon developed a reputation for a poor work ethic to the point of occasionally being found on the golf course while the other quarterbacks were studying film . after leaf 's rookie season ended , charger safety rodney harrison described it as " a nightmare you can 't even imagine , " adding : " if i had to go through another year like that , i 'd probably quit playing . " 1999 season leaf missed his second season due to a shoulder injury suffered 20 minutes into the chargers ' first training camp workout on july 23 , 1999 . leaf had surgery to fix a labral tear in his throwing shoulder . during an august training camp , a fan heckled leaf : " hey , ryan , you 're the worst draft choice in nfl history . you make heath shuler look like an all - star . " leaf , accompanied by a coach and security guards , walked towards the fan and asked a question . the fan began walking closer to leaf , and two coaches restrained leaf , with another chargers employee saying " no , don 't do it , ryan . don 't do it . " leaf later explained the incident : " ... what i wanted to do was say , ' hey , look , i 've grown up , i 'm calm about it , i would like to understand why you would say that about me . ' " he was placed on injured reserve but made headlines in early november when he got into a shouting match with gm bobby beathard and one of the coaches , resulting in a fine , a suspension without pay and an apology by leaf ( four weeks later ) . during his suspension , he was caught on video playing flag football at a san diego park , a violation of his contract according to charger management . 2000 season in the final game of the 2000 preseason , leaf completed a pass to trevor gaylor to seal a 24 – 20 win over the arizona cardinals . after the game , he appeared on the cover of the september 4 , 2000 issue of sports illustrated along with headline " back from the brink " . the cover story characterized his comeback as " an ascent from pariah to possible standout pro passer " . he started the first two games of the 2000 season but completed less than half of his pass attempts and threw five interceptions but only one touchdown . in the season opener on september 4 , a 9 – 6 loss to the oakland raiders , leaf completed 17 of 39 passes for 180 yards and threw three interceptions , including one on a 4th - and - inches play with 1 : 37 left and sealing the raiders victory . after the game , leaf 's left hand was swollen , and a late hit from regan upshaw gave leaf a chin gash that required seven or eight stitches . the following game , a 28 – 27 loss to the new orleans saints , leaf completed 12 of 24 passes for 134 yards and threw his first touchdown pass since his rookie season , a 20 - yard pass to curtis conway ; however , leaf threw two interceptions , including one that ended the chargers ' final drive . coach mike riley started moses moreno for the week 3 game , but leaf took over after moreno went down with a shoulder injury . leaf injured his wrist when he threw an interception in the week 4 game and next played in week 11 . by october , leaf speculated that the chargers would release him after the season . late that month , reports suggested that leaf lied about a hand injury to get out of practice and play golf instead . in the week 11 game on november 12 against the miami dolphins , leaf replaced moreno mid - game . 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 . this game was the first since 1993 where three quarterbacks for a team - in this case leaf , moreno , and jim harbaugh - threw interceptions in one game . on november 19 against the denver broncos , leaf completed 13 of 27 passes and reached career single - game highs in quarterback rating ( 111 . 8 ) , passing yards ( 311 ) , and passing touchdowns ( 3 ) , but the chargers lost the game 38 – 37 . after a 0 – 11 start , the chargers got their first win on november 26 , 17 – 16 over the kansas city chiefs . san diego took a 14 – 3 lead early in the second quarter after leaf made two touchdown passes to freddie jones , but the offense struggled later in the game , and leaf threw two interceptions , one of which was returned for a touchdown . leaf would again play poorly , as he threw four interceptions on december 3 against the san francisco 49ers and completed only 9 of 23 passes on december 10 against the eventual super bowl champion baltimore ravens . he improved on december 17 , completing 23 of 43 passes for 259 yards , 2 touchdowns , and 1 interception , but san diego lost to the carolina panthers 30 – 22 . in the chargers ' final drive , with nearly two minutes remaining in the game , leaf completed a 10 - yard pass to curtis conway that referees ruled was six inches short of the end zone . on first down , however , miscommunication between leaf and running back jermaine 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 leaf 's fourth down pass was incomplete . on the final game of the season on december 24 , leaf made a 71 - yard touchdown pass to jeff graham on the first play from scrimmage , but san diego lost to the pittsburgh steelers 34 – 21 . in the game , leaf completed 15 of 29 passes for 171 yards , 1 touchdown , and 1 interception and fumbled his final snap . after finishing the season 1 – 15 , the chargers released leaf on february 28 , 2001 . in three years with san diego , leaf had only four wins as a starter . for the 2000 season , leaf completed 50 % ( 161 of 322 ) of his passes for 1 , 883 yards , 11 touchdowns , and 18 interceptions . tampa bay buccaneers ( 2001 ) on march 2 , 2001 , two days after the chargers released him , 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 . leaf 's wrist had still not healed , and doctors recommended surgery . after mediocre preseason performances , he was asked to accept demotion to fourth quarterback status on the team and accept a lower salary . he refused , and was released on september 3 , five days before the start of the 2001 season . dallas cowboys ( 2001 ) his next attempt at a comeback was with the dallas cowboys , who signed him after the buccaneers released him , but he failed his first physical and was let go on september 5 . after regular starter quincy carter suffered an injury , the cowboys signed leaf again on october 12 . the cowboys released him in may 2002 after he had appeared in only four games — all losses — throwing for a four - game total of 494 yards with only one touchdown and three interceptions . retirement and legacy days later , he got still another chance when the seattle seahawks signed him to a one - year contract , planning to let him develop slowly ( as the buccaneers had done ) to allow his still - injured wrist time to heal . he attended the team 's spring 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 . seahawk coach and general manager mike holmgren told the media leaf 's wrist didn 't bother him with either the cowboys or the seahawks . during his brief career in the nfl , leaf appeared in 25 games and made 21 starts . he completed 317 of 655 ( 48 . 4 % ) passes for 3 , 666 yards , with 14 touchdowns and 36 interceptions and a career quarterback rating of only 50 . 0 . after hearing of leaf 's retirement , rodney harrison , one of his most outspoken critics on the chargers , said , " he took the money and ran . personally , i could never rest good at night knowing my career ended like that . normally in this game , you get back what you put into it , and he pretty much got back what he put into it . " the espn sports network put leaf first on its list of 25 biggest sports flops between 1979 and 2004 . nbc sports commentator michael ventre called him " the biggest bust in the history of professional sports " . since leaf 's retirement , sportswriters and commentators have characterized subsequent drafted potential nfl quarterback flops as " the next ryan leaf " . in 2010 , the nfl network listed leaf as the number one nfl quarterback bust of all time , adding that the only good that came out of drafting leaf for the chargers is that it put the team in position to draft ladainian tomlinson , drew brees , and eventually ( after it initially appeared brees himself would be a draft bust ) philip rivers . in lists of " worst nfl draft picks ever " compiled since 2010 , leaf is always listed in either 1st or 2nd place , directly ahead of or only trailing russell as the worst nfl draft pick of all time . deadspin ranked leaf as the 6th worst nfl player of all time in 2011 , opining " to call leaf a bust is unfair to the blair thomases and david carrs of the world . " more recently , dish network included leaf in their " biggest nfl bust bracket " where he was a " 1 seed " along with fellow busts jamarcus russell , tony , and david carr . on february 4 , 2016 in an interview with yahoo ! sports , leaf himself compared the problems of cleveland browns quarterback johnny manziel to his own , saying it was like " looking in the mirror " and that the only difference was that leaf 's substance abuse problems happened after he retired . leaf went on to state that manziel is able to get the help he needs . life after football after retiring from professional football , leaf returned to san diego and became a financial consultant . in 2004 , leaf resumed his education at washington state university and graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in humanities in may 2005 . the san diego union - tribune reported that among his classes in the spring 2005 was a sports management course titled media relations . he then joined don 's west texas a & m university staff as a volunteer quarterbacks coach in 2006 , commenting , " about a year after i retired from playing , i decided that i wanted to get back to college , where i had the greatest time of my life , and to get involved with college football . " he also admitted that he was unprepared for the nfl when he was drafted back in 1998 . in april 2008 , espn described leaf as having come to terms with his past . he said at the time , " 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 . " but in november 2008 he was put on indefinite leave , and resigned the next day , from his coaching position at west texas a & m for allegedly asking one of his players for a pill to help him deal with pain in his wrist from past injuries . in october 2009 , he went to work in vancouver , british columbia as business - development manager for a travel company . in september 2010 , he began writing a regular column about washington state university football for the website he wrote nine columns that football season and his work attracted a strong following among washington state fans . in december 2010 , he signed a contract with pullman , washington - based crimson oak publishing to write no fewer than three memoirs . crimson oak describes its mission as publishing books with themes of " hope , possibility , and determination . " crimson oak released leaf 's first book 596 switch : the improbable journey from the palouse to pasadena in october 2011 . the book focuses on the 1997 washington state football team that made the 1998 rose bowl . personal life in 2001 , leaf married nicole lucia , a charger cheerleader and daughter of financial radio host ray lucia . they separated in november 2003 and eventually divorced . his younger brother brady was a backup quarterback and cornerback for the oregon ducks football team from 2003 to 2006 . in september 2010 , the associated press reported that leaf was spending time with his family in montana . in june 2011 , he had a benign tumor from his brainstem surgically removed . legal troubles in may 2009 , leaf was indicted on burglary and controlled - substance charges in texas . he was in a drug - rehabilitation program in british columbia at the time of the indictment , and was arrested by customs agents at the border on his return to the u.s as he was intending to fly to texas to surrender on the indictment . however , his attorney jeffrey a. lustick successfully blocked the fugitive warrant extradition process , therefore legally allowing leaf to go to texas on his own . lustick later successfully got the washington fugitive action against leaf dismissed with prejudice . on june 17 , he posted a $ 45 , 000 bond in washington state for the criminal charges in texas . in april 2010 , he pleaded guilty in amarillo , texas to seven counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and one count of delivery of a simulated controlled substance , all felonies . state district judge john b. board sentenced him to ten years of probation and fined him $ 20 , 000 . on march 30 , 2012 , he was arrested on burglary , theft and drug charges in his home town of great falls , montana . four days later he was arrested again on burglary , theft , and two counts of criminal possession of dangerous drugs . as part of a plea bargain on may 8 , 2012 , he pleaded guilty to one count of felony burglary and one count of criminal possession of a dangerous drug . in late april 2012 , texas authorities issued two arrest warrants for him and set his bond at $ 126 , 000 . on june 19 , 2012 , 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 . he was to spend the first nine months of his sentence in a lockdown addiction treatment facility , nexus treatment center in lewistown , montana . but on january 17 , 2013 , leaf was remanded to montana state prison in deer lodge after being found guilty of " behavior that violated conditions of his drug treatment placement . " he was also accused of threatening a program staff member . in may 2014 , leaf was incarcerated at crossroads correctional facility in shelby , montana . on september 9 , 2014 , a texas judge sentenced leaf to five years ' imprisonment , giving credit for time spent in prison in montana . according to espn , leaf would not see further time in jail , but would also not be released from montana prison . on december 3 , 2014 , leaf was released from prison and placed under the supervision of great falls probation and parole . writing leaf , ryan d. ( 2011 ) . 596 switch : the improbable journey from the palouse to pasadena . pullman , washington : crimson oak publishing . isbn .