Terry Bradshaw, one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, is until this day loved by many for everything he gave to the world of football. Despite being famous, Bradshaw is a very grounded man with a heart of gold.
Born in 1948 in Shreveport, Louisiana, to parents who taught him and raised him right, he got interested in football from very early age.
“That’s all you heard from that kid – football, football and that’s all he did.” I mean since I was little. That’s all he ever did. He had a football in his hand,” explained his mother Novis in 1989.
“He was never given anything.” He had to work and he did and he was determined to ‘do it’. Because he wanted it so badly.”
People became aware of what a great player he was soon after he attended Woodlawn High School. He became the leader of the Woodlawn Knights football team and finished the season with 22 touchdown passes. During this period of his life, Bradshaw broke another record, throwing the javelin 245 feet (74.68 m) and was featured in Sports Illustrated where he was described as a promising young player.
After high school, Bradshaw attended Louisiana Tech University. “I didn’t want to go to LSU,” he said at the time. “They didn’t throw the football.” They’re working this year, aren’t they? But they never threw it away. In fact, I’ve always said they’ve never had a great quarterback. Even when they had Bert Jones, they didn’t use him properly.”
His incredible talent made him the first pick in the 1970 NFL Draft. The Pittsburgh Steelers had to pick first and never hesitated when choosing Bradshaw to be on their team. Well, the rest is history. He helped them rise from the bottom and win four Super Bowl finals. However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for him during his early years in the NFL.
“You have to understand, now, I’m a mama’s boy. I’m from the south. My upbringing is completely different from living in a big city. I was really a country boy,” Bradshaw recalled in an interview with CBN.
His detractors said he was stupid, and former Cowboys linebacker Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson once said, “Bradshaw is so stupid he couldn’t spell cat if you gave him a c and a t.”
“And I was just a good old Southern kid. I was a nice guy, but if you talk like this – and I threw a lot of interceptions my rookie year. And this guy said, ‘well, he can’t read the defense, so he must be stupid.’ The image thing hurt. I didn’t trust people. I didn’t like them. I didn’t like them, I didn’t like going around town. I don’t like sticking my head out. People have not been nice to me and I understand that. But at the same time, when we started winning, Scott, I never let myself get accepted because I remember how painful it was for five years,” Bradshaw told Scott Ross on Fox’s NFL Network Sunday.
With the help of Bradshaw, the Pittsburgh Steelers won four Super Bowl titles. His first Super Bowl victory was in Super Bowl IX, followed by Super Bowl X, Super Bowl XIII, and Super Bowl XIV. During that game, Bradshaw had a 64-yard touchdown pass and was hailed by the NFL as “the greatest throw of all time.”
At the end of 1983, Bradshaw retired from the NFL.
Brett Favre #4 of the Green Bay Packers talks to CBS commentator Terry Bradshaw after the Packers defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXX on January 26, 1997 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Packers won 35-21.
In 1984, he changed his career and became a sports dealer. Even during his playing career, he was a frequent guest commentator for CBS Sports, so him becoming a game analyst was no surprise. In 1995, he joined Fox Sports, and in 2002, he was voted America’s favorite athlete in the TV Guide readers’ poll.
In addition to being one of the best players in NFL history, Bradshaw has appeared in commercials and movies, and even has his own show on E!, The Bradshaw Bunch.
Fox Sports broadcaster Terry Bradshaw and Sir Paul McCartney sing a duet of “A Hard Day’s Night” during the Super Bowl XXXVI halftime show at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana on February 3, 2002.
Considering his influence in the world of football, one would think that he has made huge sums of money over the years. According to Celebrity Net Worth, he has a net worth of $25 million, which is not much compared to what football players are paid today.
“I signed with Pittsburgh for $25,000 rookie year, $5,000 raise the following year and $100,000 signing bonus over 10 years. “Compare that to today and you say to yourself, ‘They’re paying that guy $135 million and he’s not worth three and a half!’” Terry once said in an interview with Parade.
His annual salary as a sports broadcaster is $1 million a year, which again, compared to what others in the field earn, is not much. CBS’s Romo, for example, is paid $17 million a year, according to reporter Andrew Marchand.
Hall of Fame quarterback and FOX NFL Weekly analyst Terry Bradshaw looks on during the preseason game between the Miami Dolphins and the Jacksonville Jaguars at Hard Rock Stadium on August 22, 2019 in Miami, Florida.
When it comes to his personal life, the NFL icon has been married four times and has two daughters.
He remains one of America’s favorites, especially because he never let fame change him too much. His relatives describe him as humble and down-to-earth, and a recent incident with him proves that to be true.
Namely, someone was struggling to start the vehicle when Bradshaw noticed them and went inside. When he managed to start the vehicle, Bradshaw shouted “touchdown” and the driver, who did not know the NFL legend, looked at him in confusion.
“He had no idea who was helping him until he came to the store to use the computer and we told him,” Cindy Hurt Hammer, who captured the sweet moment, told NBC 5.
Terry Bradshaw is an icon and that’s something we agree on.
