Ryan Leaf, the second overall pick in the 1998 draft, didn’t spend many years in the NFL. He could be spending 50 of them in prison.
According to the Associated Press, Leaf faces two counts of burglary and two counts of criminal possession of a dangerous drug after his most recent legal troubles in Montana. The maximum penalties add up to a half-century behind bars.
Rarely if ever does anyone get the max. But the fact that he’s facing up to 50 means that, if he’s convicted or pleads guilty, Leaf likely will do real time.
He’s also facing legal issues in Texas, where he received a sentence of 10 years probation after a similar incident in 2010.
Leaf currently is jailed without bond as authorities in Montana and Texas share information as to whether he violated the terms of his probation. On Friday, the prosecutor in Texas said a motion will be filed Monday to revoke Leaf’s probation.
Leaf was arrested two days apart last month. He had been receiving packages containing controlled substances from another state, and he had stolen oxycodone from an acquaintance’s house. Far more troubling is the allegation that he was found in the home of two residents whom he didn’t know, and that after he left there were three prescription medications missing.
Regarded as one of the greatest draft busts of all time, Leaf almost was the first overall pick. The Colts actually wrestled with the question of whether to select Leaf or Peyton Manning. The Colts finally settled on Manning only after Manning told the Colts that, if they didn’t pick Peyton, he’d kick their ass for the next 15 years.