Finally Free (30 page)

While all of this was going on, my teammates and I focused on the two games we had remaining. A major winter storm caused our Sunday night, December 26, home game against Minnesota to be delayed by two days. It caused quite a controversy in Philadelphia, where fans are accustomed to attending games in extremely inclement weather.

We scored first against the Vikings but went on to lose 24-14. Nevertheless, we clinched the division championship and were locked in as the No. 3 seed in the NFC. Several starters, including me, were held out of the final game of the season on January 2 at home against Dallas, mainly because we couldn't improve
our playoff seed. It was done as a safety precaution and also to give us time to rest up for the postseason. Dallas won 14-13 on a touchdown with less than a minute remaining, and we finished the regular season 10-6.

Our goal all along had been to reach and win the Super Bowl, so we excitedly approached the start of the playoffs. But our dream season ended when the No. 6-seeded Green Bay Packers, who would go on to win the Super Bowl, beat us 21-16 at Lincoln Financial Field. It was our third consecutive loss at home, which is tough to even think about now.

I passed for 292 yards and a touchdown and scored a touchdown on a 1-yard run with 4:02 remaining to bring us to within five points of the Packers. We were driving for a possible come-from-behind win, but I was intercepted in the end zone with forty-four seconds left.

It was very disappointing not to advance in the playoffs, but the further away we get from that game, the more we'll appreciate the fact that we had a really good season. Our season began and ended with losses to the eventual Super Bowl championship team, and a lot of exciting things happened in between—things that gave us a lot to build on as we look ahead to the future.

Our offense ranked third in the league in scoring with 439 points. And I finished 2010 with the best season of my career.

God deserves all the glory. I set career highs in passing yards (3,018), touchdown passes (21), rushing touchdowns (9), completion percentage (62.6), and passer rating (100.2). It was the first time I had thrown for more than 3,000 yards in a season, and it
happened despite playing, basically, eleven games. I missed three games with injuries, was held out of the season finale to rest, didn't play most of the first half in the season opener until Kevin Kolb was injured, and didn't play in the second half of our first game against Washington because of injured ribs. When you put it all together, that's about eleven games for me.

One of the ways I was encouraged and supported by the fans was through the Pro Bowl balloting, which ended the day after we beat the Giants. Given everything I'd been through, I truly experienced grace in how they voted for me. I wound up second in the league in votes and was the top NFC player.

Tom Brady had 1,877,079 votes to my 1,522,437. It meant a lot that fans were able to overlook my past and focus on the present. I wanted to perform well for them because they had been behind me during some trying times. I also wanted to prove to others that I could still play at a high level even after being gone from the game for so long.

I think the fans respect what I've been through and how I've come back from it. I missed some of the best years of my football life: from the ages of twenty-seven to twenty-nine, I didn't play. I missed the game. When I returned, I was more motivated so that I could be in the top echelon and be a part of that great group with Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and Aaron Rodgers. You know, there are a lot of great quarterbacks in the league, and I feel I'm one of the best, and I just wanted to show it.

It was good going back to the Pro Bowl for the fourth time. It was really cool that the man who replaced me as the Falcons quarterback, Matt Ryan, was there, and that the Atlanta coaches were the coaches for the NFC team.

I had hoped to be busily working with the Eagles during Super Bowl week in the Dallas area, but our efforts fell short. However, I still went to Texas to be involved in many events during the week. And though I had stayed clear of any trouble during the season, some seemed to find me in Dallas.

Several pre-Super Bowl parties used my name without my permission. Roger Goodell and others didn't want me involved in the party scene surrounding the game, and I assured them that I wouldn't be. This was a situation I needed to clear up, and I did. It was a chance to show consistency of character, and I was proud to be above reproach in that situation. Like I said, I was in Dallas for more important things.

While there, I had the opportunity to speak to teenagers at an area school. As always, it felt good to share my story with them, and hopefully I provided some hope and inspiration. When the event was over, a Dallas radio reporter, Richard Hunter of KFXR-AM 1190, tried to talk to me as security was ushering me away. Hunter said he had adopted one of my former dogs and he wanted to show me a picture of it and ask how I felt about the matter. Some media outlets called Hunter's attempt at an unscheduled
interview an “ambush” and said that Hunter “harassed” me and “crossed the line” since the security people with me repeatedly told him that we had to leave. Angered that he didn't get the interview, Hunter released a video with written commentary regarding the incident. He seemed upset that I didn't give him the time he apparently wanted.

I understood the situation: He adopted one of the dogs. Here was a guy who cared. He was very fortunate because, obviously, he got a good dog and gave him a home. Now he has one of man's best friends, and he should be happy about that. I am not really sure what he expected or wanted from me. I know I didn't brush him off, though. I told him it was a good thing he did, and I kept going.

The criticism I took for my past wasn't limited to media members. During the beginning of Major League Baseball's spring training in February, Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle jumped in the fray. Buehrle, known for pitching a no-hitter in 2007 and a perfect game in 2009, said he and his wife were dog lovers, and that while they watched NFL games in 2010, they were hoping I'd get injured. When given the chance to retract the statements, he didn't back down.

I feel bad for people like that because they're so worried about me. You know, I don't even know who the guy is. If Buehrle walked right past me in the local 7-Eleven, I wouldn't know it was him. But for him to make that type of comment, it's something he has to live with. Don't wish bad things on others.

In the midst of all this controversy, I was awarded the NFL Comeback Player of the Year and the Bert Bell Award, an award that was established in 1959 and is given by the Maxwell Football Club in recognition of the best professional football player in America each year. Both awards were humbling, and I felt extremely honored to be esteemed in such a way. In some respect, it was evidence and proof of what hard work and being committed to the proper priorities can help someone achieve.

The Eagles recognized that too, and they chose to put their franchise tag on me during the initial free-agency period. It meant I would get paid a 2011 salary at the average of the five highest-paid quarterbacks in 2010—about $20 million, a significant raise from the $5.2 million salary I had made in 2010. It was a lot of money, but I still have millions to repay to creditors as part of my bankruptcy settlement.

In the fall of 2011 I signed a new long-term contract, a five-year, $80 million deal with $35.5 million guaranteed. One of my friends called me afterward. “Boy, you better say a prayer,” he said. “God really loves you. There's something about you.”

I never imagined making that type of money again. Sitting in prison, I knew I'd play again. But financially, I didn't think I'd ever see money like that. I figured I'd have a couple of one-year deals and maybe a three-year deal but never imagined making $80 million. I just wanted to earn enough to pay off my creditors and support my family for the rest of our lives.

At the press conference for my contract, I was just humbled to be a part of the Eagles organization. They will forever hold a dear place in my heart because of the opportunity they gave me. Words can't explain how I feel about them. They believed in me, took a chance on me—and I was determined to give back to them. Ultimately, I knew it came from God—putting me in Philly, placing me around great coaches who care about me on and off the field.

In the first couple of months after the season ended, I received my first paid endorsements since getting out of prison. The first came in February and was a two-year deal with Unequal Technologies, which supplied me with a vest, shoulder pads, and thigh pads during the season. Later, in March, I signed a deal with Core Synergy to endorse titanium-based wristbands, which help hold a positive charge and can reverse pain in the body caused by negative energy fields. Then, in July, I signed again with Nike, the sports apparel company that had cut ties with me about four years earlier. The same month, I also signed with MusclePharm, a nutritional supplement company.

In April, I was a finalist, along with Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis, to be on the cover of the EA Sports
Madden NFL '12
video game. Peyton ended up winning. If I had won, I would have become the first player to appear on the cover twice. Instead, Peyton became the first Cleveland Browns player on the cover. It was special to see Peyton accept the honor and thank the fans for voting for him when he announced his team's first-round pick during the 2011 NFL draft.

I was so happy for the fan vote too. Even though I didn't win, it
let me know that there are fans who are standing behind me and who believe in me. Things happen for a reason, and if I'm not on the cover, it's for a reason. I never question what God has in store for my life.

Around that same time, another game—
Dog Wars
by Kage Games—was released. Designed to run on Google Inc.'s Android software, it glorified dogfighting. I tried to be proactive and immediately issued a statement opposing it. The statement, released on the Humane Society's website, said: “I've come to learn the hard way that dogfighting is a dead-end street. Now I am on the right side of this issue, and I think it's important to send the smart message to kids, and not glorify this form of animal cruelty, even in an Android app.”

It was another step on my journey toward healing and redemption. I now look ahead to all that God has in store for my life.

Chapter Fourteen

Moving Forward