Ryan Leaf

Ryan Leaf

Leaf in 2018
No. 16
Position:	Quarterback
Personal information
Born:	(1976-05-15) May 15, 1976 (age 48) 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 a player:
San Diego Chargers (1998–2000) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2001)* Dallas Cowboys (2001) Seattle Seahawks (2002)*
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
As a 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 Stats at Pro Football Reference

Ryan David Leaf (born May 15, 1976) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for four seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the San Diego Chargers and the Dallas Cowboys between 1998 and 2001, and also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Seattle Seahawks.

Leaf played college football with the Washington State Cougars, finishing as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy after his junior year. He 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.

After his NFL career ended, Leaf completed his degree at Washington State. He had legal troubles involving drugs beginning in 2010 when 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. On September 9, 2014, 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. He was released from prison in Montana on December 3, 2014.^[1] In October 2020, he pled guilty to a misdemeanor domestic violence charge in California and was sentenced to probation.^[2]

Leaf has worked as a Program Ambassador for Transcend Recovery Community, a group of sober living houses in Los Angeles, Houston, and New York. He also hosts a radio show and works as a college football analyst on television.^[3]