The "Big Motivating Factor" in Why Rodney Chose the NFL over MLB

Rodney enjoyed a successful 16-year career in the National Football League. What people might not know is that he played baseball as a student at the University of Southern California. A Major League Baseball team even drafted him as he was concurrently being drafted into the NFL. Ultimately, even though it wasn't an easy choice, he says, Rodney signed with the NFL.

Here, Rodney explains why he chose football, despite going later in the draft than he would have liked. "I felt that being a black quarterback, playing in the NFL, especially when people thought that you could not do it, was a big motivating factor for me to choose football," Rodney says. "I had to not only prove people wrong but, I think, show myself and others that I could compete and play quarterback in the NFL. And I was able to do it for 16 years."

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