Finally Free (9 page)

The trade worked out not only for me and the Falcons, but for the Chargers too. Some commentators, like
Sports Illustrated'
s Peter King, have since said it was the most interesting trade of the decade. San Diego picked TCU running back LaDainian Tomlinson with the fifth selection and used their second-round pick on Purdue quarterback Drew Brees, giving them a sensational—even historic—draft and the position players they needed. Tomlinson and Brees teamed up to make San Diego a consistent contender and one of the most talented teams in the NFL.

LaDainian, who moved to the New York Jets through free agency before the 2010-11 season, has had a Hall of Fame career. Drew might also be en route to enshrinement in Canton, Ohio, especially after leading the New Orleans Saints to a Super Bowl championship and earning MVP honors in the process.

The Falcons, then owned by Taylor Smith, made the 2001 trade expecting great things from me. In an interview shortly after the trade, Atlanta's general manager at the time, Harold Richardson, told
Sports Illustrated'
s Don Banks that he considered the swap comparable to the deal the Denver Broncos made to acquire quarterback John Elway from the then-Baltimore Colts in 1983. Elway eventually led the Broncos to two Super Bowl titles and three other championship game appearances in a Hall of Fame career.

My first coach in Atlanta, Dan Reeves, says that back then he thought I could be a player similar to Elway, my childhood idol Steve Young, or former Dallas Cowboys great Roger Staubach. Reeves coached Elway, coached against Young, and played with Staubach. All of those quarterbacks were good runners, great leaders, Super Bowl champions, and league MVPs. Coach Reeves thought I was a good scrambler and would only get better as I “learned to throw the football and not rely on running so much.” He later said, “I don't know of anybody who ever played the game that—at the quarterback position—was the fastest player on the field.”

But in addition to my playing ability, the Falcons drafted me to rebrand the franchise and help sell tickets. Anytime you've got a team that's struggling, you want to bring in a main attraction. Maybe LaDainian Tomlinson would've done it too, but Atlanta already had a top running back in Jamal Anderson. I was ready to bring excitement to Atlanta.

My first contract dramatically changed my economic base, filling my bank account with more money than I'd ever fathomed growing up in Newport News. That in itself was a huge challenge as I adjusted to the NFL.

My $3 million signing bonus was my first paycheck in the NFL, but after taxes, it ended up being about $1.9 million. I was surprised by the taxes taken out of my check.

No one taught me how to handle money. I never had a real job. I had been active in sports as a youngster, so the only paying jobs I had before the NFL were working part-time as a painter for my uncle and serving as a pool boy for my high school coach.

In addition to being naïve about taxes, I was not prepared to go from having no money in my pocket to $2 million. Suddenly, I could buy my mom everything I promised her and everything I wanted for her. I could buy almost anything. The world was mine.

The first thing I bought was a gold Lincoln Navigator with 22-inch rims. My second purchase was four scooters. And my third purchase was my mother's house. It felt great to be able to buy my mom whatever she wanted. I felt like she had been a part of everything I worked for.

As a family, we knew we would be set financially for the rest of our lives. It was complete jubilation. But we also knew that with more money came more responsibility for me, and I wanted to do a lot of things for my family. I gave everyone a nice chunk of change—$20,000 or $30,000 apiece. I took care of a lot of people because we had a very tight-knit family and we stuck together. We were there for one another.

I put my family in the position to go out and buy themselves nice things and live comfortably. It was gratifying, and I enjoyed providing for them—even spoiling them.

I was very blessed that my arrival in Atlanta seemed to infuse excitement into the Falcons' organization. Ticket sales escalated, and the team's value was on the rise by the time Taylor Smith sold the franchise to Home Depot cofounder Arthur Blank in 2002.

I had a positive public image for my first four or five seasons in the NFL. Our team made two playoff appearances, including a berth in the NFC Championship game during the 2004 season, and I was selected to three Pro Bowls.

I played sparingly as a rookie, starting only twice, and passing for two touchdowns and running for one. A rushing touchdown was the first score of my pro career. It happened in the second game of the season against the Carolina Panthers.

We were on the 2-yard line, and I can remember approaching the end zone. The Panthers had their backs turned, and I was saying to myself,
There is the end zone right there. Just get to it.
I took off.

Panthers safety Mike Minter turned around quickly—at the drop of a dime—and hit me right in the ribs. I still made it to the end zone, which made me happy. But at the same time, I was hurting because he bruised my ribs. The play was just like when I scored my first Pop Warner touchdown as a quarterback: I was on the ground. After I stood up, all I could think was,
That's the first of many.

We finished 7-9 my rookie year. But we improved to 9-6-1 and earned a wildcard berth to the playoffs the next season as I became the full-time starter and the face of the franchise. We got
off to a slow start at 1-3, but then completed an NFL-best, eight-game unbeaten streak, going 7-0-1 during the stretch.

In September of that same season, I was blessed to return to Blacksburg, where Virginia Tech honored me by retiring my jersey. I became the fifth player in school history to receive such an honor.

The moment was particularly special because it was something I never included in my dreams of becoming an NFL quarterback. More than anything, it showed me that I was on the right track. Here I was—just a kid from Newport News who had a dream of being an NFL player—and my college jersey was being retired after only two seasons on the field with the Hokies and one year in the NFL. It gave me a huge confidence boost for my second NFL season—my first as Atlanta's regular starter.

It was a different atmosphere from my rookie year to my second year. Though I approached playing in the NFL with a relaxed and mellow attitude since we were rebuilding and flying under the radar, I still knew I had to live up to Atlanta's expectations of me. After all, they traded to get the No. 1 pick in the draft and select
me
. I had too much pride to be a draft bust.

The more games we won my second year, the more I felt like I was becoming a leader. I believe you can't make yourself a leader—people have to see leadership in you. I tried to lead by my actions on the field, and my teammates started to respect me and look to me. We had momentum heading into the playoffs, which created more of a demand for consistency. People saw our potential, so we had to live up to it.

At the age of twenty-two, I faced off against the Green Bay Packers and already-legendary quarterback Brett Favre in the wildcard game. The Packers had never lost a home playoff game at Lambeau Field, or in their earlier days in Milwaukee, going 13-0 dating back to 1933.

I can vividly remember being out there on the field during warm-ups. The snow was gently falling. There was no wind, and it was cold, but not too cold. There was an eerie feeling in the air that something special was going to happen that night.

We were happy that we made it to the playoffs. For us, that was overachieving. We knew we could play with any team in the league, but really, we didn't stack up that well with some teams, like Green Bay. We were big underdogs heading into the game, but we played exemplary football that night. Right from the beginning, we could tell it was going to be special. We scored on the opening drive—something Green Bay hadn't given up all year—en route to a 27-7 upset win.

It was Favre's first home loss of any kind when the temperature was 34 degrees or below. In a very uncharacteristic move, he didn't talk to the media after the game.

My statistics weren't sensational—117 passing yards, one touchdown, and 64 rushing yards—but the victory was exciting beyond description, and much more important and memorable. Everything went right for us that night. It was my best moment in Atlanta.

The next week, we were matched up against my old friend Donovan McNabb and his Philadelphia Eagles. Unfortunately, we lost 20-6. But it was still a successful year—even a surprising year. We flew under the radar and accomplished things that people didn't expect.

Individually, I had a solid season and was selected by my peers and the fans to go to my first Pro Bowl. I was happy. I felt like my career was headed in a good direction—up.

After all the success in 2002—the eight-game unbeaten streak to finish the season, the upset against Green Bay at Lambeau, the culture change and excitement in Atlanta—2003 was a huge disappointment for both me and the organization.

My hopes of building on 2002 ended before the 2003 season began—when I broke my leg in a preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens. Sitting on the sidelines as we went 2-10 through the first twelve games was excruciating.

The preseason injury had an impact on more than just me. It exposed a lot of weaknesses in the team, and Coach Reeves was relieved of his duties three days after my return in Week 14—when we beat Carolina 20-14 at home.

Coach Reeves will always hold a special place in my heart. I remember watching him on television when I was eight or nine years old. He was in a suit, Elway was his quarterback, and he was
giving Elway a hard time. I had never seen someone look so distraught and upset during good times. But now I understand. It was just him demanding greatness. I remember telling myself at the time,
If I make it to the NFL, I don't want to play for that coach right there.

Go figure; I ended up getting drafted by him. But I loved playing for him and connected with him. Coach Reeves gave me my first set of golf clubs. He gave me advice about how to study and become a better player. I talked to Coach Reeves on a personal level more than any other coach. And I still do.

When he got fired, I felt partially guilty. I felt like I could have done more to speak up for him, but I was only twenty-two or twenty-three years old. I didn't know the business. I didn't know if Mr. Blank would listen to me. I knew things needed to change on several levels, but I didn't want to overstep my boundaries.

We finished the year with an interim head coach, Wade Phillips, and a 5-11 record. I was hoping the year was a small bump in the road for a team that was on the rise.

After the season, and three years into my professional career, the Falcons made me the NFL's highest-paid player with a $130 million contract, further testing my self-discipline and money management. Again I was in the spotlight. In addition to my new deal, I had other earnings from corporate sponsorship deals with companies like Nike, Coca-Cola, Kraft, Hasbro, and AirTran.