Kurt Warner continues to prove his worth
JULY 28, 2000

Fans' View

Peter Newcomb/TSN
Kurt Warner
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Today, sports fan Steve Schindler explains why Kurt Warner deserves a lot of credit for reporting to camp before his new deal was finalized.

Long before his meteoric rise in the NFL last season and before anyone knew or cared about him, Ram quarterback Kurt Warner proved time and again that he was a rare bird in a professional world of strutting peacocks. He proved he was in it for more than just the money.

Warner and his agent just finished negotiating with the Rams for a suitable long-term contract befitting a reigning Super Bowl champion quarterback. But when reporting to Rams' training camp last week, Warner signed a tender offer worth $358,000, minimum pay for a two-year veteran in the NFL. He signed because he was ready to play football. He wanted to be with his team.

He acted while tuning out the protests of his agent, Mark Bartelstein. The agent was pushing for a holdout. That's the way things are done in the show. Bartelstein said that what Warner was doing was unprecedented. You bet it is. The poor guy never had a client do something this stupid before!

But there's a lot about Warner that is unprecedented. In college, he was only a one-year starter at Northern Iowa, where he led the Panthers to an 8-4 record in his senior year. That year he was selected the Gateway Conference MVP. Warner's UNI offense averaged almost 32 points in victory and 24 points in defeat. He led the conference in total offense and passing efficiency in 1993.

His wife Brenda and sons Cade and Zack are his reasons for everything Warner does. He is a family man, and much of how he approaches life has come from the delicious mix of adversity and love he has experienced in his own home.

Zack is legally blind and has some brain damage as a result of an accident early in life. "So every day is a struggle for him and he's the most amazing kid I've ever met," said Warner. "And he's so special to me, and to see the way that he struggles every day and to see his outlook on life is just incredible."

Warner learned from Zak much as he learned from the Green Bay Packers in 1994 when they released him from training camp. He learned that there was more to life than football. He learned that adverse situations would come and that he had to keep trying until his chance finally came.

He kept trying in the Arena Football League, playing three seasons with the Iowa Barnstormers. He remembers, "We got to throw on almost every down. We scored 50-to-60 points a game and that's what makes it fun when you're an offensive guy." Warner thrived in this highly offensive environment. He would have stayed there his entire career happily supporting his family and playing the game he loved.

But the NFL came calling in '97. The Rams gave him a workout and a ticket to the World Football League for some seasoning. Make that Cajun blackening! When his NFL chance finally came in the '99 season, he was hot and sizzling.

He burst into the NFL last year with full confidence that he could do what no one expected. Warner was the least surprised person when his Rams began enjoying success. He was out to prove to the world that he could lead his team to victory. In the end, he led his Rams to victory in Super Bowl 34.

So, on the trail of the greatest football victory of his life, Warner exhibited a tremendous show of faith in his team and reported to camp, agreeing to play for the NFL version of minimum pay. "I don't want to miss a thing," Warner said. "That's why I came here, to practice from day one and show my teammates that I wanted to be here." What a guy! This is a team player!

Do you get the idea we are not talking about a Deion Sanders, a Steven Davis or an Erik Williams here? These guys hold out for the bucks and get tons of them as a result. They could care less what happens to the team in the meantime. Warner is different. He trusted he would get his bucks and was a patient man. When was the last time we heard about this kind of faith on the part of a potential pro sports mega-millionaire?

Warner was going to sign whatever he had to, whatever it took to get him into camp with his teammates and coaches. His deeply held desire to support his family and to prove his loyalty to those he worked with was paramount in his decision. To him, nothing else mattered.

And with his decision, Warner proved that he is not in the NFL just for the money. He is not your prototypical sports prima dona. He is in the game for much more than that. Warner is a professional football player for the love of his family, for the love of the game.

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