Tillman ignores media hubbub
Kent Somers
The Arizona Republic
May 25, 2002
The calls flooded into the Cardinals public relations department Friday. From the erudite (National Public Radio) to the infantile (Best Damn Sports Show Period), the nation's media clamored to hear from Pat Tillman, NFL safety turned soldier.
CNN's Wolf Blitzer called. So did a Today Show producer, another from ABC News and yet another from ESPN's Up Close. Writers from Sports Illustrated and The Sporting News phoned.
All wanted to know why Tillman, 25, would leave the NFL in his prime, turning down a new contract worth a few million dollars, to pursue a goal of becoming an Army Ranger.
Tillman, who's visiting his parents in San Jose, responded with silence. If this is going to become a big story, it's going to happen without his help.
No one close to Tillman was surprised that he could walk away from a pro football career.
"Materialistic things have never meant much to Pat," said his agent, Frank Bauer.
The surprise was that Tillman was leaving the NFL to join the Army.
Cardinals defensive tackle Russell Davis was at home Thursday when his wife, Ivana, yelled to him that Tillman had just signed.
"That's good," Davis thought.
"With the Army," Ivana said.
Tillman isn't looking for publicity. He enlisted in Denver because he didn't want word to leak. And he left instructions with the Cardinals that he didn't care to comment about the decision. His family isn't commenting either.
Some people close to Tillman said the terrorist attacks in September contributed to his decision.
"A lot of us when Sept. 11 happened said, 'Oh, man I should join the Army now and go over there and do something about this,' " said Cardinals center Mike Gruttadauria. "And maybe a half percent of the people who thought that followed through with it.
"If there's a platoon of guys like that with Tillman leading it, I feel much safer."
Money has never motivated Tillman. While some of his teammates drove expensive SUVs with televisions, state-of-the-art stereos and their names embroidered in the seats, Tillman owned an average-looking Jeep Cherokee.
An unrestricted free agent, this would have been his biggest payday in the NFL. He received just a $21,000 signing bonus as a seventh-round pick out of Arizona State in 1998. And he made NFL minimum salaries his first three years in the league. His biggest salary was the $512,000 he made last season.
It's believed the Cardinals were offering a multiyear deal that averaged around $1 million.
Most people close to Tillman reacted like Cardinals defensive coordinator Larry Marmie, who wasn't surprised that Tillman left football but that he did it to join the Army.
"If somebody had explained the situation to me and then asked me to pick out the guy (involved), I would have picked Pat," Marmie said. "Life for Pat is all about challenges."
Former ASU coach Bruce Snyder had a similar reaction when he heard the news Thursday.
"I can't stop smiling, and I'm not really sure why," Snyder said.
Tillman has always been headstrong, Snyder said, and very sure of what he wanted to accomplish and why.
"He never did things just for my affection," Snyder. "He went and tackled that guy because he wanted to tackle that guy."
In college, Tillman told a reporter that one of his goals was to make $1 million by an early age. NFL money didn't count, he said. Few people doubt that he can do it.
While Tillman likely would have lost his starting job this season to Adrian Wilson, his decision hurts the Cardinals. He played an integral role in nickel situations and was one of the best special teams players in the NFL.
"He meant a lot to our whole defense," said Wilson, a rookie last year. "It's meant a lot for me to learn from him."
When he first heard the news about Tillman, Cardinals receiver Frank Sanders didn't believe it.
"There's no way I thought Pat would ever retire," Sanders said, "and then I thought to myself: You know what? He's like a Forrest Gump. He tries everything."
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