Former Green Bay quarterback Bart Starr has died at age 85. He had been in declining health since suffering a stroke in 2014.
I loved the fact that he was a 17th round draft pick. So much for skillful drafting. (Of course Joe Montana, the other great QB during my lifetime, was drafted 82nd.)
Don't forget Tom Brady (drafted 199th), and then there is Johnny Unitas (drafted 109th) who was cut by the Steelers (they actually thought he stunk!) before becoming that generation's greatest Quarterback. The fact that names like Starr, Unitas, Montana and Brady all got passed on by teams multiple times during their drafts--in some cases they got passed on at least once by the team that eventually drafted them--just goes to show that with all of the insight and know-how scouts and GMs claim to have, the reality is that they don't really know any more than we do about who will and won't be great.
And then we have the highest-played player in the NFL, one James Garoppolo, who had five decent games and the 49ers went nuts. $137 million. 12 touchdowns in 4 years, or $1.14 million per touchdown (so far).
It's an example of how as time passes, a person's fame and public recognition can decline. When Unitas died, the story faded away quickly and quietly. Knowing how massive of an icon Unitas was for Pro Football you would think there would've been a big deal made, but it was treated like a filler story by the media. Imagine if Peyton Manning passed today, it would be headline news for weeks. I remember when Reggie White died the major news networks did stories on him every day for 2 weeks, he was a big star whose career had only freshly ended not long before. But someday, if he lives long enough, Peyton's public position will fade and when he dies it will probably quickly fade the same way it did for Unitas.
