Hunter S. Thompson urged Colts owner to draft Ryan Leaf over Peyton Manning in 1998

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) –Ryan Leaf, the quarterback passed over by the Indianapolis Colts in favor of Peyton Manning in 1998 says he recently received a letter from Colts owner Jim Irsay that was sent to him by journalist Hunter S. Thompson urging him to draft Leaf over Manning. 

The text of the letter reads:

“Dear James,

“In response to yr. addled request for a quick $30M loan to secure the services of the Manning kid — I have to say No, at this time

“But the Leaf boy is another matter. He looks strong & Manning doesn’t — or at least not strong enough to handle that “Welcome to the NFL” business for two years without a world-class offensive line.

“How are you fixed at left OT for the next few years, James? Think about it. You don’t want a china doll back there when that freak Sapp comes crashing in.

“Okay. Let me know if you need some money for Leaf. I expect to be very rich when this depp movie comes out.

“Yr. faithful consultant,

“HUNTER” 

Leaf, who was drafted #2 overall by San Diego after the Colts picked Manning, revealed the existence of the letter on Thursday in an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show on the Audience Network on DirecTV.  Leaf explained that he was at a Los Angeles Dodgers game recently when he was approached by a fan who struck up a conversation and revealed that he lived near Irsay in Indianapolis, told him about the letter and said he would have the letter sent to him. 

After Leaf received the letter, he sent a copy of it to Eisen and during Thursday’s interview with Leaf, Eisen confirmed the authenticity of the letter after speaking with a former coworker from his time at ESPN who had previously worked with Thompson at Rolling Stone Magazine and confirmed the  the letter was the real deal.