Sam Bradford never lived up to his hype as an NFL quarterback, having been selected as the first-overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams.
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While his performance on the field was never what fans and coaches expected, but you wouldn't know that by taking a glance at the massive amount he's hauled in through his career earnings.
Early Life and College Football Career
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Samuel Jacob Bradford is a member of Cherokee Nation and grew up in Oklahoma City. He attended Putnam City North High School where he starred as a football player and golfer for the Panthers, prior to earning an athletic scholarship at the University of Oklahoma.
His father, Kent Bradford, also played for Oklahoma, and Sam followed in his footsteps.
While a member of the Oklahoma Sooners football team, Bradford won the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore in 2008, having thrown a remarkable 50 touchdowns to just eight interceptions in one of the greatest seasons in NCAA Football history.
Bradford was also voted the Associated Press' College Football Player of the Year. He featured in just three games as a junior after suffering an AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder.
Despite his ailment, Bradford was highly sought after in the 2010 NFL Draft.
NFL Career
"An elite thrower of the football."
What will Sam Bradford bring to the @AZCardinals? (via @BaldyNFL) https://t.co/J58Sk9f2Pb
— NFL (@NFL) March 16, 2018
Sam Bradford was the first pick off the board in 2010, and the Rams thought they had selected their quarterback of the future when bringing him to town. Things didn't go quite so smoothly, however.
Bradford signed a staggering six-year rookie contract with the team, worth $78 million, including $17 million in guaranteed money, but failed to produce on the field despite a solid first season that saw him throw more completions than any rookie in NFL history and win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Across five seasons in St. Louis, Bradford won just 18 games and threw 59 touchdowns and 38 interceptions.
He didn't play in a single game during his final year with the Rams after suffering a torn ACL in the preseason, and was released after the 2014 season. Despite his lackluster play, Bradford was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for Nick Foles and a pair of valuable draft picks. He was signed to a two-year deal by the Eagles where he'd earn $18 million per year.
After just one year with the Eagles, Bradford, who once again struggled, was traded to the Minnesota Vikings. In Minnesota, he enjoyed his best season in the NFL, tossing 20 touchdowns and just five interceptions. He suffered a knee injury in his second season in Minnesota, resulting in him losing the starting job to Case Keenum, and eventually leaving the franchise.
Still, despite all the injuries and lack of success on the field, Bradford once again managed to find a new NFL home, signing a $20 million deal with the Arizona Cardinals that included a $10 million signing bonus, per Spotrac.
In Arizona, it was the same old Bradford, as he managed to play in just three games before going down with an injury and missing the remainder of the season. The former first round pick was released after the 2019 season, and has not been signed since.
Bradford never made the playoffs throughout his nine years in the National Football League, though the former football quarterback was paid as if he was a Super Bowl champion.
Sam Bradford Net Worth
Sam Bradford demoted to Cardinals’ 3rd-string QB, will lose $312.5K bonus every game he doesn’t play 😬https://t.co/QiJXKrDOTO pic.twitter.com/1eTfBz8vxW
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) September 30, 2018
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Sam Bradford boasts an estimated net worth of $70 million and pocketed more than $130 million in career earnings as an NFL player, according to Spotrac.
If you do the math, Bradford, who threw 103 touchdown passes in his career, earned roughly $1.25 million per TD, as well as $1.56 million per game played.
While the thought of Bradford's career earnings is enough to make any fan of his former teams sick, he and his wife Emma Lavy are certainly enjoying the fruit of his labor now that he's out of the league.
