Meet Ryan Leaf Wife-to-be Anna Kleinsorge: Where Is The Former NFL QB Today?

Ryan Leaf used to play quarterback in the NFL. He did this for four seasons. Leaf played for the San Diego Chargers, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Seattle Seahawks from 1998 to 2001.

After his junior year at Washington State University, the athlete was in the running for the Heisman Trophy.

He was picked by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 1998 NFL Draft, after Peyton Manning.

Ryan’s career was cut short because of his bad behavior, bad play, and problems with his work ethic and ability to stay focused. Leaf was named the NFL’s biggest “draft bust” in an episode of NFL Top 10.

Ryan Leaf
Ryan Leaf

Anna Kleinsorge is the woman who is going to marry Ryan Leaf

In 2017, Ryan Leaf asked Anna Kleinsorge to marry him. Anna used to play volleyball professionally and is now a filmmaker and actress.

His fiancee is well-known for her roles in Formé, Queen Latifah’s Show, and Hobo Cream.

In 2001, she played volleyball for her college team and won the Fairfield Inn Jefferson Cup. In 2003, she had to stop playing volleyball, and she started modeling for Puls-Size women.

Kleinsorge was a model for big brands like Old Navy, Forever21, and Macy’s.

Leaf’s partner went to Georgetown University and got a Bachelor of Science degree there.

The former volleyball player played for the Georgetown Hoyas, the Georgetown University women’s volleyball team, and got a full athletic scholarship from the prestigious school.

She also went to the McDonough School of Business to study advertising and marketing. Kleinsorge has a degree from the McDonough School of Business in advertising and marketing.

What is Ryan Leaf doing now? What’s he doing right now?

Ryan Leaf works as a Program Ambassador for Transcend Recovery Community, which is a group of sober living homes in New York, Los Angeles, and Houston.

The guy who used to play football has a radio show and works as a college football analyst on TV.

Since he retired, sports reporters and broadcasters have called quarterbacks who might fail in the NFL after him “the next Ryan Leaf.”

In 2010, NFL Network named him the worst quarterback to ever play in the NFL. They also said that the only good thing that came out of the Chargers drafting Leaf was that it allowed them to draft Drew Brees, LaDainian Tomlinson, and eventually Philip Rivers.

He was named the sixth worst NFL player by Deadspin in 2011.

In 2016, the 46-year-old compared Johnny Manziel’s problems to his own, saying it was like “looking in the mirror.” The only difference was that his drug problems started after he had retired.

Ryan told Johnny that he would be able to get the help he needed. Ryan says that Archie Manning asked the Chargers how they treated him before the 2004 NFL Draft.

Who is Nicole Lucia, Ryan Leaf’s ex-wife?

In 2001, Nicole Lucia and Ryan Leaf got married. After two years of marriage, they split up and got a divorce in November 2003.

Ray Lucia is her father. He used to be a Certified Financial Planner, an author, and a TV host.

She danced for three years with the San Diego Charger Girls Dance Team. In Nicole’s last year, the NFL chose her to be a Pro Bowl cheerleader, and she worked with the Dallas Desperado’s Dance Team.

Her LinkedIn profile says that she now works for herself as the owner of Danceology. She graduated from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in 1999 and worked as a CorePower Yoga instructor.

How much money does Ryan Leaf have?

According to Celebritynetworth, Ryan Leaf has an estimated net worth of $1,000.

When he was a football player, the Chargers gave him a four-year, $31.25 million contract with a guaranteed $11.25 million signing bonus.

His high hopes for San Diego were quickly dashed when he didn’t do well in his first season there. He got a fine because he didn’t go to a symposium that all drafted players had to go to.

Since he works for Transcend Recovery Community, his hourly pay ranges from about $13.84 for a Technician job to $29.50 for a Mentor job.

At Transcend Recovery Community, a Program Director makes about $33,206 a year, while a Bookkeeper makes about $57,555 a year.

Ryan Leaf
Ryan Leaf

Going to college

After leading Charles M. Russell High School in Great Falls, Montana, to the 1992 Montana state championship, the head coach at the University of Miami at the time, Dennis Erickson, told him that his size and athleticism were good for a tight end or maybe a linebacker. He decided to be a quarterback for the Washington State Cougars instead after head coach Mike Price, who had coached Drew Bledsoe for many years when he was with the New England Patriots, called him while he was watching the Rose Bowl and said, “If you come here, we’re going there.” Leaf didn’t know that Washington State hadn’t been to the Rose Bowl since 1931, but he told Sports Illustrated later that he knew right away he wanted to play for Price and accept a scholarship.

He played 32 games for Washington State, and 24 of those games were as a starter. During his junior year, he averaged 330.6 passing yards per game and threw for 33 touchdowns, which was a Pac-10 record at the time. He also led the Cougars to the school’s first-ever Pac-10 championship. Even though he had a good start in the 1998 Rose Bowl, Washington State lost 21–16 to the Michigan Wolverines, who went on to win the Associated Press national championship.

In that year, Leaf was one of three finalists for the Heisman Trophy, which is given every year to the “most outstanding” college football player in the United States. The winner is chosen by the media and former players. He came in third, behind the winner, Charles Woodson of Michigan, and Peyton Manning of Tennessee, who is also a quarterback. He was named the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year, made The Sporting News’s first-team All-American list, and finished the season with the second-best passer rating in the country. The Rose Bowl made him a possible first-overall pick in the NFL Draft, so Leaf decided to skip his senior year at Washington State and enter the 1998 draft instead.

1998 NFL Draft

Most people thought that Peyton Manning and Leaf were the two best players in the 1998 NFL Draft, and scouts and analysts argued about who should be picked first. Tony Dungy, coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, said, “Manning-Leaf was really split when you talked to people,” even though his team didn’t need a quarterback. Many people liked Leaf because he had a stronger arm and more potential, but others thought Manning was the more experienced and safer pick. Most people thought, though, that it didn’t matter much whether Manning or Leaf was picked first because either one would be a big help to his team.

That year, the Indianapolis Colts had the first pick in the draft. Team scouts liked Leaf better, but Colts president Bill Polian and the coaching staff liked Manning better, especially after finding out that he could throw harder than Leaf during individual workouts. Manning’s interview also made the team like him, but Leaf’s didn’t. Leaf’s draft prospect profile said that the player was “so sure of himself that some people find him arrogant and almost annoying.” Leaf put on about 20 pounds between the end of his junior season and the NFL Combine in February. One of the six experts consulted by Sports Illustrated, Jerry Angelo, said this was “a [negative] signal” about Leaf’s self-discipline. All six thought that Manning would be the best choice, but the magazine said, “It seems likely that both Manning and Leaf will become at least good NFL starters.”

The third pick in the draft went to the San Diego Chargers. Polian told Bobby Beathard, who is in charge of running the Chargers, that he would not trade the Colts’ pick. Beathard said later that he would have taken Archie Manning’s son Eli Manning with the first pick because he knew his father, but that didn’t mean Ryan was bad at the time. After scoring the fewest touchdowns in the league the year before, his team needed a new quarterback. To get the second draft pick from the Arizona Cardinals, San Diego traded its third overall pick, a future first round pick, a second round pick, and three-time Pro Bowler Eric Metcalf. This gave San Diego the right to draft whichever of the two quarterbacks Indianapolis didn’t take first. The Colts picked Manning first, and the Chargers picked Leaf second. The Chargers signed Leaf to a four-year contract worth $31.25 million, which included a guaranteed $11.25 million signing bonus. At the time, this was the biggest signing bonus ever given to a rookie. Leaf said, “I hope to play for 15 years, go to the Super Bowl twice, and have a parade through downtown San Diego.” Leaf flew to Las Vegas, Nevada, on the jet of Chargers owner Alex Spanos and partied all night. At his first news conference the next day, Leaf yawned.

San Diego Chargers (1998–2000)

San Diego had high hopes for Leaf, but they were quickly dashed when he had a bad rookie season. He missed the last day of a mandatory symposium for all NFL draftees and had to pay a $10,000 fine. Still, Leaf played well in the preseason and the first two games of the season, when the Chargers won both. Even though Leaf made mistakes like fumbling the first snap and throwing two interceptions, the Chargers beat the Buffalo Bills 16–14 in the season opener on September 6, 1998. Two of Leaf’s interceptions were called back because of penalties from the Bills. In the game, San Diego was up 10–0 after Leaf threw a touchdown pass of 6 yards to Bryan Still, which came after a 67-yard pass to Still. But when Leaf picked off a pass late in the game, San Diego fell behind 14–13. Leaf completed 16 of 31 passes for 192 yards in the first game. In the second game, a 13–7 win over the Tennessee Oilers, he completed 13 of 24 passes for 179 yards and ran the ball seven times for 31 yards.

Leaf was hospitalized three days before the Chargers played the Kansas City Chiefs on September 20. He had a viral infection that he said was caused by a burn on the artificial turf that wasn’t cleaned well enough. In a 23–7 loss, he started the game but only completed one of 15 passes for four yards, threw two interceptions, and lost four fumbles. The next day, Leaf was caught on camera telling San Diego Union-Tribune reporter Jay Posner to “knock it off” during a locker room interview. He was led away by Junior Seau and a team executive, during which he called Posner a “fucking bitch.” He later told Posner he was sorry about what happened.

Leaf was replaced by former sixth-round pick Craig Whelihan after the New York Giants picked off four of his passes in the first half of Week 4 (September 28).

[28] On October 4, he started the next game, which the Indianapolis Colts and top pick Peyton Manning won 17–12. Both quarterbacks completed 12 of 23 passes and threw one interception. Leaf had 23 more passing yards (160) than Manning, but Manning threw the only touchdown and was never brought down, while Leaf was brought down four times. In the last two minutes, when San Diego was down 14–6, Leaf’s 56-yard pass to Charlie Jones set up a one-yard touchdown run by Natrone Means. However, Leaf’s two-point conversion pass to Webster Slaughter, which could have tied the game, was incomplete. [29] After going 4-of-15 for 23 yards and throwing an interception against the Denver Broncos on November 8, he lost his starting job for good. Whelihan took over. [30] Leaf threw for 1,289 yards and completed 45.3% of his passes in ten games. He scored only two touchdowns and threw fifteen interceptions, giving him a terrible quarterback rating of 39.0.

Leaf had bad relationships with the media and with his teammates, who he often blamed for his bad play. He also got a bad reputation for not working hard, like when he played golf while other quarterbacks were studying film. Beathard said, “Guys can be jerks, but I’ve never seen a guy work harder to turn his teammates against him. Junior Seau and Rodney Harrison told me, “Bobby, this person is killing me.” Harrison said that Leaf’s immaturity and Whelihan’s lack of skill made the 1998 season “a nightmare.” “If I had to go through another year like that, I’d probably quit playing,” he said. During the offseason, Seau asked the team’s management to sign a veteran quarterback and “get a guy in here not to babysit, but to win.”

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