Ryan Leaf Sentenced To 5 Years For Violating Probation, Won’t Serve Time

Ryan Leaf’s after-NFL life takes yet another weird turn.

Fox Sports reported that Leaf was sentenced to five years in a Texas prison for probation violation, but will not serve any time. Leaf violated probation when he was arrested in Montana for breaking into a private residence to find and steal prescription drugs. Leaf plead guilty to felony burglary and criminal possession of a dangerous substance in 2012. He served about 27 months in a Montana prison.

Leaf’s lawyer, Bill Kelly III, said Judge John B. Board sentenced Leaf to five years for each offense, but gave Leaf credit for the time he served in a Montana prison. Leaf, 38, has been granted parole but has yet to be released.

The Armadillo Globe News is reporting Randall County District Attorney James Farren said the outcome of a Sept. 23 hearing will determine where Leaf goes next. He might have to come back to be paroled for his Texas convictions, he said.

“I’m disappointed that we ended up cutting the deal that we did,” Farren said Tuesday. “But we did, and I’ve got to live with it. I certainly was hoping Ryan Leaf would serve time for the offenses he committed in Texas.”

Leaf was accused of burglarizing a player’s home in 2008 while he was coaching for Division II West Texas A&M in Canyon, Texas. He resigned and an investigation turned up that Leaf had illegally obtained nearly 1,000 pain pills from area pharmacies and asking a player for pain medication.

Leaf was accused of providing incomplete medical histories in an attempt to acquire more of the pain medication Hydrocodone between January 2008 and September 2008. In 2010, he agreed to plead guilty to seven counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and one count of delivery of a simulated controlled substance.

Leaf was then placed on probation under what is known as deferred adjudication, meaning if he completed the terms of his probation, there would be no criminal record remaining. Then, there was the break-in and theft in Montana.

Leaf has gained notoriety as perhaps the greatest “bust” in the NFL draft. The San Diego Chargers drafted Leaf the second overall choice in the 1998 draft, behind Peyton Manning, drafted by the Indianapolis Colts. Leaf just lasted four seasons, two with the Chargers, one between the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and on the practice squad with the Seattle Seahawks before officially retiring. Other than being known for his profane off-field outbursts toward fans, coaches and reporters, he finished his career with 14 touchdowns and 36 interceptions.

[Image Courtesy of craveonline]