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I was the biggest bust in NFL Draft history, became addicted to drugs and alcohol and now I’m a ‘child of God’
However, Tony Mandarich ended up playing in only 86 NFL games.
In draft history, ‘The Incredible Bulk’ transformed into ‘The Incredible Bust,’ bouncing between two teams, exiting the league after just six seasons, and never earning a Pro Bowl nod.
“I drank and dulled my senses with prescription painkillers to avoid feeling the pain of falling from stardom,” Mandarich wrote for CBS.
“I was hyped in college as possibly the best offensive line prospect ever. But what I became was an alcoholic and a drug addict, lacking the coping mechanisms for life’s ups and downs.”
Overhyped in college, the 6’5″ and 311lb offensive tackle became the face of NFL Draft mania, now spanning three days and broadcast nationally on multiple TV channels.
In 1989, Mandarich was hailed as a once-in-a-generation talent out of Michigan State University. Then, everything began to unravel.
Mandarich struggled to adapt to NFL life and gel with the Packers. He failed to live up to the hype that accompanied his lofty No. 2 draft pick.
After just three years in Green Bay, his professional career fizzled out.
“I spent the next three years as an unemployable, miserable wreck, drowning in self-pity and unable to extricate myself from the mess I had created,” Mandarich wrote.
Football aficionados from that era still recall an iconic Sports Illustrated magazine cover that ultimately became a source of mockery. A shirtless Mandarich was hailed as ‘The Incredible Bulk,’ while the accompanying article painted a surreal portrait of his life.
He lifted weights morning and night, consumed seven meals totaling 15,000 calories a day, and aspired to become Mr. Universe post-NFL career.
Factor in his affinity for Guns n’ Roses during their heyday, and there hasn’t been an offensive line prospect as hyped as Mandarich since.
“As a junior, he could have started on any of our Super Bowl teams,” remarked Michigan State head coach George Perles, a former Pittsburgh Steelers coach, to SI. “He might be the best offensive tackle ever. “He’s quicker than any offensive lineman in the NFL. There’s likely no one faster in the world at his size. He’s a different breed. We’ll never see another one like him.”
Even more astonishing was the top five of the historic 1989 draft, which propelled the NFL – then on par with MLB and the NBA – to the pinnacle of American sports.
Hall of Fame QB Troy Aikman was chosen No. 1 by the Dallas Cowboys and became part of a dynasty.
Barry Sanders, widely regarded as the greatest running back of all time, was the Detroit Lions’ No. 3 pick. Derrick Thomas, a Hall of Fame linebacker, was chosen No. 4 by the Kansas City Chiefs.
Deion ‘Prime Time’ Sanders joined the Atlanta Falcons at No. 5 while preparing for his baseball career with the New York Yankees.
Mandarich was so talented, dominant, and groundbreaking that he was sandwiched between four future Pro Football Hall of Famers.
Moreover, before his name was called by the NFL on April 23, 1989, he faced serious allegations of steroid use. “No one has ever seen a guy who’s 6’6″, 320, who can move, who can dominate,” Mandarich said. “People would love for me to be on steroids. They’d love for me to get arrested going 120 miles an hour, intoxicated, with steroids in my glove compartment.”
After being released by the Packers, Mandarich spent four seasons away from the NFL and got sober.
He returned to play for the Indianapolis Colts from 1996 to 1998, starting ten games during Peyton Manning’s rookie season.
However, a decade later, Mandarich admitted to using steroids in college and cheating a drug test before the 1988 Rose Bowl game. “I reached a point where working out three or four times a week was a struggle because getting high took precedence over exercising,” Mandarich said.
Finally retiring from the NFL, ‘The Incredible Bust’ turned his life around.
Mandarich’s Instagram bio identifies him as a ‘Child of God’ and ‘speaker,’ while he recently shared a photo of himself smiling alongside Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid.
When NFL legend Steve McNair tragically passed away in 2009, Mandarich sought to contextualize it all.
“Many pro athletes struggle to adapt after retirement,” he wrote. “We become accustomed to the attention and adulation of fans and don’t know where to find our self-worth once the spotlight is gone.
“Having been seen as such a ‘superior’ specimen, it’s nearly impossible for a former pro athlete to seek help from others. We can’t admit that we’re not strong enough to handle the drastic changes without assistance.
“Being acknowledged for our athletic achievements is gratifying, but it’s the adversities we face – and conquer – that truly define us as human beings.”
