A biography for Ryan Leafhasn’t been written yet.
“You grow from all those things you go through.”
“I don't believe I was meant to be a professional quarterback. I was meant to have these life experiences and be an impact on others who've struggled. That's what I'm meant to do.”
“Many times somebody tried to help me be constructive and I just pushed them away.”
“I don't judge anybody until I meet them.”
“I had many orthopedic surgeries.”
“People say I'm arrogant or cocky. You know what it is? I feel that I have a good chance to win ball games.”
“I'm stubborn.”
“I mean this country is all about second chances. Look at me.”
“I look back and see the integrity my dad had, but I didn't gravitate toward that. I don't see how I didn't.”
“I was a talented egomaniac with a self-esteem problem.”
“If you can't admit your faults how can you ever grow?”
“There was a joke going around campus when I was at Washington State. It went, 'What's the difference between God and Ryan Leaf?' The punchline was, 'God doesn't think he's Ryan Leaf.'”
“When I came into the NFL, there were three things that were very important to me: money, power and prestige. I was powerful now because I was a famous athlete. I had prestige because I was doing what everybody wanted to do. And I had a lot of money.”
“Put me in the game, and my team will win 9 times out of 10.”
“I defy anybody to be of service to another human being and not have the most peaceful night of sleep you've had in a long, long time.”
“I grew up in a really supportive environment.”
“If you look like a ghost, you feel like a ghost.”
“I don't want to coach in the NFL.”
“People make too big a deal about me.”
“There's freedom in being rigorously honest. I lied all my life.”