Leaf is widely regarded as one of the biggest busts in NFL history
Calling Ryan Leaf a bust isn't as effective as it used to be.
Leaf was the second pick of the 1998 NFL Draft, behind Peyton Manning, by the San Diego Chargers, and he's widely regarded as the biggest bust in NFL history.
A combination of poor play, injuries and bad behavior led to his career ending in 2001 after just 25 games.
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SiriusXM host Ryan Leaf attends day 2 of SiriusXM at Super Bowl LVI on February 10, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM)
Leaf has had to accept the harsh reality, but more than 20 years later, it's not much of a concern anymore.
Active on social media, Leaf responded to a post on X, formerly Twitter that read, "From what I remember Ryan Leaf absolutely LOVED to take receipts when he was in the league."
Leaf said that was not the case, but had he done so, "I could have talked a lot of s--t."
The original post did not tag Leaf, nor does Leaf follow the account, so another user, dubbed Soap, asked him why he was "searching" his own name on the platform.
That's when Leaf went to school.
Ryan Leaf walking off the field before a college football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Georgia State Panthers on August 31, 2019, at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, TN. (Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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"Baby is taking her 11 am nap, I finished my work, and it’s draft time, so I know a bunch of dumb f---s are talking shit and I’m the righteous hand of Busts to lay a reckoning down upon thee, until my baby girl wakes up, which she just may have," he wrote back.
Soap wasn't finished, though, asking Leaf, "Does your daughter know you're a bust."
That prompted plenty of backlash by other social media users, which included calling Soap a "coward," a "jerk," and a "disappointment," among other insults long and short.
But Leaf dropped the mic.
"She’s 14 weeks, she’ll find out, there are a--holes like you everywhere eager to shout it from the basements. I think the being a drug addict and 7 time convicted felon may be the harder conversation, but we trudge on!" he answered.
First round draft pick Ryan Leaf #16 of the San Diego Charger poses for this photo with owner Alex Spanos (L) and commissioner Paul Tagliabue (R) during the NFL Draft April 18, 1998 at the Theatre at MSG in the Manhattan borough of New York City. (Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
In the thread, Leaf attributed "service to others" as the "biggest credit" to turning his life around.
Leaf will always be synonymous with the worst term in sports, but it's no secret he's done his best to live his best life, as he's started a foundation for mental health, and has been sober for over 12 years.
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