Star tight end Darren Waller, who signed a $2,300,000 entry level deal with the Baltimore Ravens back in 2015, has had a roller coaster of a life outside of the football field. He was picked up by the Ravens in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL Draft and while his on-field heroics earned him a lot of praise, his alcohol addiction did harm his image to some extent.
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In fact, soon after signing his rookie deal, Waller had dropped a whopping $8,000 from his first paycheck just on cigars. Waller had a troublesome teenage phase as he battled oxycodone and alcohol addiction at a very tender age. He has even admitted to spending near about $100 on pills everyday when he was just 16.
Darren Waller Loves His Cigars
During an interaction with GQ Sports, ‘Cigar Aficionado’ Darren Waller had talked about his love for the sticks and how it’s the only thing from his troubled past which he still continues to consume, although at a very subdued level. Waller claimed that from his first million, he spent a whopping $8,000 just on buying his favorite sticks.
“I spent about $8,000 on Cigars. I drank a lot, smoked a lot but I am sober now. I’ve been sober for like 5 years. Cigar is really my only thing,” Waller stated. He also recalled an instance when he went to the Las Vegas Aces after they had won the WNBA Championship. Darren had joined the celebrations by bringing a huge bag of cigars.
“Cigars is really my only thing. Smoke a couple a week probably. Padrons, favorite Placencia, League of Bravada. I’m always generous, people were generous with me. You know I went to the Las Vegas Aces, they won the WNBA championship. I brought a whole humongous bag of cigars for the buses, for the parade. So like I’m always show of love,” Waller had added.
While he still continues to drop a substantial amount of money on Cigars, what is appreciable is that Waller has successfully battled several other addictions which could have ruined his football career.
Darren Waller Managed to Secure a $51 Million Deal With the Raiders After Working at a Farmer’s Market
It is no secret that Darren Waller was involved in a plethora of problems while playing in the NFL. He even failed drug tests multiple times. In June 2017, he was served with a one year ban after which, he went into rehabilitation at the McLean Hospital and also worked at the Sprouts Farmers Market where he was paid $11/ hour for stacking produce.
After all this, as per Front Office Sports, in 2022, Waller managed to come back strong to secure a three-year, $51 million contract with the Las Vegas Raiders and stamped his authority in the league. Moreover, in order to give back to the society, the renowned TE also founded the Darren Waller Foundation.
With the help of the foundation, Darren wants to “equip youth to avoid and overcome addiction to drugs and alcohol and support youth and their families during their recovery and treatment journey.” While Waller did make a lot of mistakes along the way, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that he saved himself in time and is now looking to aid others in need.
