Frank Ryan’s net worth increased dramatically as a result of his career as an NFL player and professor. Ryan died in a nursing home on January 1, 2024, at the age of 87, as a result of Alzheimer’s disease complications.
Before his family moved him to the Waterford, Connecticut, healthcare facility, the former quarterback and his wife, Joan Ryan, lived on 78 acres of heavily wooded property. From 1958 to 1970, Frank Beall Ryan was a late American football quarterback who played in the National Football League.
He was drafted in the fifth round by the Los Angeles Rams in 1958 and played with them until 1961. After that, he spent time with the Cleveland Browns (1962-1968) and the Washington Redskins (1969-1970). Frank and the Browns won the NFL Championship in 1964, which has been referred to as the “Super Bowl” since 1966.
He concluded his NFL career with a passing rating of 81.43, placing him sixth behind Milt Plum, Baker Mayfield, Otto Graham, and Bernie Kosar. In addition to being a decent football quarterback, he was a mathematician and professor at Case Institute of Technology (now Case Western Reserve University). He also held administrative posts at Yale University and his alma mater, Rice University.
Frank Ryan Net Worth Before Death: QB Earnings & Income Throughout His Career
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Frank Ryan passed away on January 1, 2024, with a net worth of $1 million. His NFL career was his first significant source of income. He then made a solid income as a professor and athletic director after retiring from sports. While the details of his NFL contract and career earnings are unknown, they were said to be in the six-figure level.
Given his 13 seasons with teams like the Browns, Rams, and Redskins (now Commanders), his earning potential appears to be real. In the late 1950s, Ryan made $12,000 each season with the Los Angeles Rams (equal to $131.5K now). After the 1961-62 season, he was traded to the Cleveland Browns.
He was named to three Pro Bowls and led the team to the NFL Championship in 1964. According to accounts, the winning NFL Championship team (the Browns) earned $8,000 for each player. In comparison, the Colts players who lost earned around $5,000 each. Frank used to make $18,000 per season, which is now similar to $200K.
Following the victory, Cleveland Browns owner Arthur Bertram Modell boosted his salary by 38% to $25,000 per year. The amount has the same purchasing power as $275,000 in 2024. He then joined the Washington Redskins in 1969, appearing in just two games in 1969-70 and 1970-71. On April 13, 1971, he retired from the NFL with 1,090 completions in 2,133 attempts for 16,044 yards, 149 touchdowns, and 111 interceptions.
Frank Ryan Post-NFL Career and Achievements
Ryan graduated from Rice University with a bachelor’s degree in physics and a master’s degree in mathematics. He then obtained his Ph.D. from the same institution in 1965. While playing football, he continued his academics. He served six years as the House of Representatives’ director of information systems after leaving the NFL in 1970.
During that time, he was important in the development of the body’s first computerized voting system. On March 7, 1977, Frank was named athletic director at Yale University, a position he held for ten years. The 1965 Golden Plate Awardee worked as a Vice President for Institutional Planning at his alma mater, Rice University, from 1990 to 1995. At the time, he was also a computational and applied mathematics professor at Rice.
Frank Ryan went on to hold several administrative posts, including CEO of Contex Electronics and director of America West Airlines, Sequoia Voting Systems, and Danielson Holding Corporation. There is no information available about how much money he made from his academic and executive jobs. It is also true that it resulted in a significant cash flow into his bank accounts.
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