5 NFL players who threw their careers away

Despite the fact that NFL players are idolized by millions across the world, we often forget that they are, in fact, human, too. They sometimes get things wrong, just like us.

They may take home more in a week than most do in a year, but this doesn’t make them immune to mistakes. Often, these mistakes are made public and can lead to the beginning of the end.

Many of the NFL's current stars are trained to keep their mouth shut when it matters. They are taught to never let their private lives clash with their professional lives. Even outspoken stars like Jalen Ramsey have learnt to take things down a notch, but this isn't the case with every NFL player.

Here are five players whose careers ended due to one mistake:

#5 Rae Carruth

Rae Carruth with the Carolina Panthers

Rae Carruth was an up-and-coming wide receiver for the newly formed Carolina Panthers in 1997. But just two years later, his career ended when he was arrested for his role in a murder-for-hire plot that resulted in his girlfriend Cherica Adams, who was eight months pregnant, being shot.

It was alleged Adams refused to give into Carruth’s abortion demands, so the Panthers wideout took matters into his own hands. He was jailed for conspiracy to commit murder in 2001 and was sentenced to 18 to 24 years.

#4 Johnny Manziel

Cleveland Browns v Kansas City Chiefs

Johnny Manziel’s NFL career was as chaotic as it was short. The controversial Texas A&M quarterback was drafted in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns.

However, his career was virtually over before it began, as off-field issues, which included partying, drugs and arguments with his girlfriend, saw him leave the NFL just two years after entering it.

During his NFL career, Manziel only mustered up 15 games, throwing for seven touchdowns against seven interceptions. He’s since spent time in the Canadian Football League and the Fan Controlled League.

#3 Ray Rice

San Francisco 49ers v Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was one of the best running backs in the league prior to 2014, making three Pro Bowls and helping Baltimore to a Super Bowl victory. However, in 2014, Rice and his fiancée Janay Palmer got into an altercation in an elevator at a New Jersey casino, and TMZ released the video to the public.

Following the release of the video, the NFL announced that Rice would be suspended indefinitely, a decision that would later be overturned.

However, Rice never played in the NFL again, despite several comeback attempts, and announced that his football career was over in 2018.

#2 Ryan Leaf

Ryan Leaf with the San Diego Chargers

Ryan Leaf will go down as one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history. He was drafted second overall by the San Diego Chargers in 1998, one pick after Peyton Manning. Leaf was fined by the NFL for missing the final day of mandatory NFL rookie orientation, and things didn’t improve as the season progressed.

Leaf’s attitude was a problem, as he tried to fight coaches, fans and players, and even faked a wrist injury so he could go and play golf.

Needless to say, he didn’t last long with the Chargers, who cut him after just two years. He was out of the NFL entirely by 2002.

#1 Aaron Hernandez

San Francisco 49ers v New England Patriots

Aaron Hernandez not only threw his NFL career away, but also his entire life. The former New England Patriots tight end was a star in the making, alongside Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski, but was arrested for the murder of Odin Lloyd, who was dating Hernandez’s girlfriend's sister.

The Patriots immediately released Hernandez, who later went on trial and was convicted of first-degree murder, thereby ending his NFL career.

Just days after being acquitted, he hung himself in his prison cell. He was just 27 years old.