Former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel had a wild career before he retired after 14 seasons in 2023.
He played for seven teams — including the Chiefs — and technically won a Super Bowl as Drew Brees' backup with the Saints in 2009. Daniel was a Heisman Trophy finalist in college at Missouri.
But before all that, Daniel was just your average college student eating whatever he wanted when he wanted. After a photo of him during his Missouri days went viral on X, Daniel explained exactly why he looked the way he did and how it ultimately didn't matter in his rise to among college football's elite.
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"Okay…here’s what you’re gonna do," Daniel wrote. "First you need to gain 15 pounds. Then pick up a 30 pack of Keystone Light. Next, find your closest Taco Bell drive through & order roughly one of everything on the menu. Finish with an invitation to the Heisman Trophy ceremony."
The Heisman Trophy ceremony mic drop is *chef kiss,* too.
Okay…here’s what you’re gonna do.
— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) June 7, 2024
First you need to gain 15 pounds. Then pick up a 30 pack of Keystone Light. Next, find your closest Taco Bell drive through & order roughly one of everything on the menu. Finish with an invitation to the Heisman Trophy ceremony” https://t.co/7AD7ujGUJM
Fans added to the legend of Daniel during his college days as well. They compared him to Kenny Powers, played by Danny McBride in "Eastbound & Down" and even called out stories they heard or witnessed from Daniel's time at Missouri.
That is a fact
— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) June 7, 2024
😂
— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) June 7, 2024
FACTS
— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) June 7, 2024
Daniel finished his career at Missouri with 12,515 passing yards, 101 touchdowns and 41 interceptions in four years. He didn't win the Heisman in 2007. He finished fourth behind the winner, Tim Tebow, Darren McFadden and Colt Brennan.
Coincidentally, Daniel had a longer NFL career than all three of those players.
Tebow played just three seasons after going No. 25 overall to the Broncos in 2010 before bouncing around practice squads, trying his hand at baseball and a short stint with the Jaguars during the 2021 offseason. McFadden played 10 relatively successful seasons for the Raiders and Cowboys after being draft No. 4 overall in 2008.
Brennan was a sixth-round by Washington in 2008 but never played a regular-season NFL snap in three years. He played in the CFL and AFL as well. Brennan died in 2021 after he was found unconscious in a California hotel room.
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Daniel, meanwhile, had an incredibly lucrative NFL career despite limited on-field activity. He completed 186-of-273 passes for 1,746 yards, nine touchdowns and seven interceptions in 74 total games and just five stats. However, Daniel earned around $43.1 million during his career, per Over The Cap, for an incredible $231,720.43 per passing completion.
Daniel played three seasons with the Chiefs from 2013 to 2015 as Alex Smith's primary backup. He went 1-1 as a starter and completed 43-of-68 passing attempts for 409 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
