Terry Bradshaw displayed his honest opinion of money when he once explained that his happiness means more than the size of his bank balance.
The Pittsburgh Steelers legend ranks among the most iconic quarterbacks to ever play in the NFL with his impressive play on the field, which resulted in four Super Bowl titles, earning him a mammoth contract in 1981.
Two years before his shock retirement from football in 1983, the Louisiana native was awarded a contract worth $470,000 (£362,000), which made him the second-highest-paid quarterback of all time, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Bradshaw conducted an interview with Playboy magazine in 1980, a year before he inked his colossal deal, and gave quite the poignant perspective on how important wealth is when asked if he felt rich.
“Well, monetarily, I don’t know what rich is,” the NFL Fox on Sunday analyst said. “I feel rich in a lot of ways. I make a good living. But I don’t really make that much money. I do make a good amount of money compared to the average laborer. But, as compared to your superstars in baseball or basketball, you know, I’m nowhere near that bracket.
“I’m not even in the top ten or fifteen. But that’s not the point. The point is, I’m happy. And that’s the most important thing.” As the number one draft pick in 1970, Bradshaw earned the most money from his class as he signed with the Steelers for $25,000 (£19,000).
(Image: Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM)
He received a $5,000 (£3,800) raise in his second year on top of a bonus worth $100,000 (£77,000), which was spread over 10 years. Bradshaw admitted he stayed away from spending his money on anything lavish, instead opting to splash out on his mother.
“I didn’t understand money and I probably did like most people that never had any – I bought a few things, but nothing extravagant. No houses or anything,” he added.
“I bought a car, and I bought my mother some nice furniture because I wanted to. Outside of that, that was pretty much the end of my spending. Like I said, I wasn’t making big dollars.”
Having ventured into broadcasting following his football retirement with CBS, Bradshaw joined Fox in 1994 but has recently been subject to criticism after a series of live gaffes, leaving fans to call for his retirement.
