Riptide Going After Leaf
May 21, 2002 - arenafootball2 (af2)
San Diego Riptide News Release
SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego Riptide of the arenafootball2 faxed a contract to Ryan Leaf's agent, David Dunn, this morning in order to bring the former 1998 #2 overall selection of the NFL Draft back to San Diego to professional football.
Leaf, who was released by the NFL's Dallas Cowboys on Monday, completed 48.4% of his passes in his three NFL seasons with 14 touchdowns, 36 interceptions and a passer rating of 50.0.
"Ryan (Leaf) has a great opportunity to hone his skills as a player in this league where Kurt Warner began his career," said Riptide Head Coach Cree Morris.
Warner played three seasons with the AFL's Iowa Barnstormers, where he led them to two ArenaBowl appearances and was named First Team All-Arena twice, while passing for over 10,000 yards with 183 TDs and a passer rating of 107.84.
In 1999, Warner became the starting QB of the St. Louis Rams when Trent Green suffered a pre-season injury that sidelined him for the year. In turn, Warner led the Rams to a 13-3 record, the team's first Super Bowl win and was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player and Super Bowl XXXIV MVP.
Since then, Warner has passed for more yards, more touchdowns, has the best completion percentage and highest passer rating by any quarterback in their first 43 NFL games played. He has been to the Pro Bowl all three seasons, has been named the NFL's Most Valuable Player twice and is 35-8 as a starting quarterback. On the other hand, Leaf, a resident of Del Mar, has a 4-17 record as a starter in the NFL.
"If Ryan (Leaf) comes here to the Riptide," said Riptide GM George LaFrance, "I will come out of retirement and help lead this team to an ArenaCup championship."
LaFrance, spent 12 seasons in the Arena Football League, has won five ArenaBowl titles, was named the ArenaBowl MVP three times, the league's MVP twice and hold many AFL single-game, single-season and career marks.
After being the number two pick, Leaf originally signed a six-year, $31.25-million contract that included an $11.25-million signing bonus. In the af2, all players are paid $200 a game and can earn an extra $50 with a win.
The San Diego Riptide (3-4) return home to the San Diego Sports Arena this Saturday to take on the first-place Bakersfield Blitz at 7:00 PM. Tickets start at just $5 and can be purchased at any TicketMaster location, the Sports Arena box office or ticketmaster.com. This will be a rematch of the season opener (April 6), when the Riptide squandered a 27-3 first half lead and lost 49-43 in overtime. Bakersfield lost Saturday night to the Peoria Pirates 60-54 in overtime and coming into the game 4-2.
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