Wayne Gandy, a hard-charging offensive lineman, played on Auburn’s 1993 undefeated team and was a consensus All-American. Heading to the 1994 NFL draft, Gandy knew that he was on the verge of becoming an instant millionaire. He didn’t have to wait long to hear his name called. Gandy was selected with the 15th pick of the draft by the Los Angeles Rams and signed a five-year contract worth $5.1 million. He went on to play 15 years with the Rams (1994-98), Steelers (1999-2002), Saints (2003-05) and Falcons (2006-08). He remembers those times fondly.
As a junior, people tried to talk me into leaving, but I knew if I left then I might go late second round or early third in the draft. In my mind, I had been poor for 21 years and thought I could be poor for 12 more months. I went back to Auburn, and going undefeated made it even sweeter. Being able to leave Auburn 11-0 and put them back where they belong was great.
I had graduated that December before the draft. So I had closed every chapter that I needed to in college and was headed to the pros and was ready.
I had a degree in finance, but I didn’t have all of those lofty dreams about what I was going to do with money. My whole career, I just wanted to live up to whatever was said. Whether it was the paycheck or the status. I always wanted to reflect that in my play. To me, I had put in the work, and the money was just a by-product of it.
Even though first-round money is always great money, if you look at a person’s career, really it’s that next time around when you really hit the lottery. Work still had to be done, but I was happy to be able to buy an air conditioner. That was the first thing I bought.
My first big purchase? I didn’t have a car. I didn’t have anything. I brought my mom central air and heat for her house (in Haines City, Fla.) Because when I left and went to college at Auburn, in the dorms you had central air and heat. In Florida, even though it doesn’t get super cold, it’s always hot. We used to have to lay on the floor under the fan.
I guess that left a real lasting impression on me. The first thing that I did was call the AC people.
Then after that, spending money had never necessarily been the thing that I live to do. I brought my mom a car, and I brought me a car and that was about it. There wasn’t any big gold chains or anything like that.
About the Author
