A year ago, former LSU quarterback Joe Burrow was a couple of weeks removed from serving as a counselor at the Manning Passing Academy, ready to start preseason practice of what became a national championship season with Burrow winning the Heisman Trophy.
Now, Burrow is beginning training camp with the Cincinnati Bengals after signing four-year, $36.2 million fully guaranteed contract including a $23.9 million signing bonus, and he’s already tapped into the retired Peyton Manning and his 17 years of NFL experience for advice.
Why?
Manning was the No. 1 overall draft choice in 1998 by Indianapolis, considered a franchise quarterback after being a former SEC star at Tennessee who finished second in the 1997 Heisman.
Burrow was the No. 1 overall draft choice this year, and is considered a franchise quarterback after winning the 2019 Heisman and guiding LSU to its fourth-ever national championship.
So, it was a no-brainer for Burrow to have a Zoom call with Manning in May for an hour to get intel on what he is facing making the transition to the NFL with such great expectations.
“I couldn’t have appreciated that more,” Burrow said in a Friday Zoom conference with Cincinnati-area media. “I felt like we were in very similar situations coming in and he felt the same. He just gave me a lot of different advice when it came to marketing, how to handle the huddle, how to handle coaches, how assertive to be in your first year and how you build on upon that. It was a great conversation that I was very glad to have.”
Burrow, who has bought a house in Cincinnati. also revealed what he’s going to do with all his money.
“I don’t plan on spending any contract money,” Burrow said. “I’m just going to live off the marketing money and let that accrue in my bank account.”
Pro football may not be ready for someone with so much common sense.
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