April 5, 2006: Ryan Leaf of the Miami Dolphins enters free agency after he is unable to sign a new deal with the team. Teams expected to pursue the former first-round pick include the Saints, the Jets, the Lions, and the Cardinals. The Packers, the former frontrunners in the race to get Leaf, have expressed concern that he would be too old to succeed current starter Brett Favre when Favre eventually retires. Leaf is represented by super agent Tom Condon.
April 29-30, 2006: With the #1 overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, the New Orleans Saints select DE Mario Williams out of NC State. With the #5 overall pick, the Arizona Cardinals select QB Vince Young out of Texas. With the #6 overall pick, the Green Bay Packers (from Jacksonville) select QB Jay Cutler of Indiana. With the #9 overall pick, the Detroit Lions select QB Matt Leinart out of USC.
May 1, 2006: Ryan Leaf meets with New Orleans Saints management, who attempt to convince him to come through an elaborate presentation involving several Saints legends, and the #1 overall pick, Mario Williams, who says that the two can become a dynamic force on both sides of the ball. They say that with the tandem, they can be a contender within two years, enough time for the Saints, displaced due to Hurricane Katrina, to come firmly back to New Orleans, and build a winning team.
May 4, 2006: The Miami Dolphins meet with Ryan Leaf, attempting to come to some sort of agreement that would keep the Pro Bowler on the team. They take him to a Miami Heat playoff game, and then bring him to dinner before returning to team offices, where they show him a video full of Dolphins team in-jokes and different Miami pop culture clips, including Miami Vice and Scarface scenes, and after the presentation, local celebrities including Dan Marino, Bob Griese, Floyd Mayweather, Dwayne Johnson, and Hulk Hogan are shown in video form telling Leaf that Miami would be his best option. Leaf is then handed a letter from Governor Jeb Bush, saying that the state and city are behind Leaf, and all he needs to do is sign with the team again in order to keep it that way.
May 9, 2006: Ryan Leaf meets with the New York Jets, who say that he could make the team a free agent hotspot and, in such a huge market, he could make more money beyond the contract than he ever could in any other market. He is brought to a Yankees-Red Sox game and told that the glitz and glamour of the city would be his best choice. During the game, he sits with Joe Namath and Mark Gastineau. Derek Jeter and Robinson Canó come over to Leaf after the game and testify to the idea that it is always better in the city. Afterward, they go to dinner and are approached at the restaurant by Adam Sandler and Kevin James, both Jets fans.
