When Grant Wistrom signed with the St. Louis Rams in 1998, he wasn’t all that happy about it. The sixth overall pick in the NFL draft, the Webb City native says he was “ready to see the world, not stay in Missouri.”
“I wasn’t excited about it in the least,” he says. “I was a foolish 21-year-old kid from the Midwest. I didn’t want to stay here, I wanted to travel.
“The Rams had an early pick because they were the losingest team in the last decade. I didn’t want to start out like that.”
But after two years in the Edward Jones’ Dome, Wistrom and the Rams brought home a Super Bowl title. The defensive end was no stranger to winning. In high school, Wistrom helped lead the Webb City Cardinals to two Class 4A state championships and was chosen by USA Today as a first-team high school All-American.
“My defensive coach got me started and taught me how to play the right way. Football is a life lesson,” he says of his high school days. “I had no aspirations to play professional football, it was just a vehicle to get my education paid for.”
Wistrom attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he helped anchor the defensive line. During his four-year college career, Wistrom took home a Lombardi Award, was named an All-American and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. As senior captain, he led the Huskers through a perfect 13-0 season.
“If you are gonna do something, you should do it to the best of your ability,” he says. “I wanted to be the best.”
And the pros came knocking.
Drafted just five spots behind all-time touchdown record holder Peyton Manning, Wistrom signed a six-year, $12 million contract.
“I didn’t want to go to St. Louis, but now I wished I’d played my whole career there,” he says. “At the end of my contact, I became a free agent and decided to hock my wares on the market.”
The Seattle Seahawks bought in and Wistrom signed a six-year $33 million contract, with a $14 million signing bonus. But it didn’t last. Collecting $21 million over three years, he was released in 2006 after Seattle opted to restructure his contract.
“They got a new manager and he was brining in his guys,” he says. “I was watching ESPN with my wife and scrolling across the ticker I saw Seattle had signed a new guy in my position. I told her we could start packing to go home.”
Wistrom had been a Cardinal, a Husker, a Ram and a Seahawk, but he’d never written a resume. So, after leaving Seattle, he didn’t know his next step.
“Retiring at 31 is both a blessing and a curse,” he says. “My wife and I basically tried not to kill each other for six months. Then, we found CrossFit.”
Wistrom is co-owner of CrossFit Springfield and CrossFit Springfield East.
“CrossFit is about people always looking to better themselves. There is a level of accountability there. I like that,” he says.[[In-content Ad]]
