Mar 28 2010
Miami Strip Clubs: Former UM, NFL star Leon Searcy finds peace after downfall
The contract the Pittsburgh Steelers gave him after selecting him 11th overall in 1992? He blew that. The one worth $17 million Jacksonville paid to make him the league’s highest-paid offensive lineman ever at the time? Spent that, too. He shakes his head at what a cliché he used to be, dabbing that towel at the sweat on his temples.
“I spent all my time wanting to be a celebrity,” Searcy says. “You know the Rick James character behind the bar in the Dave Chapelle Show? That was me.”
Offensive linemen tend to be pretty anonymous, so Searcy went about buying attention and friends.
“Dinner and champagne? On me,” he says. “Strip club? On me. I was popping bottles and making it rain. I was supporting uncles and cousins. I was paying mortgages and first-class vacations. I had an entourage of leeches. Everything was suit, limo, flash and dash. What the hell was the matter with me?”