Jerry Rice on Hated Cornerbacks and Letting Fans Wear His Super Bowl Rings
Jerry Rice officially hung up his cleats in 2006. But 15 years later, his name is one you’ll still see on a lot of NFL records. Over his amazing 20-year career, he set records for most pass receptions (1,549) and most career receiving yards (22,895). He’s also at the top of the list for receiving touchdowns (197) and total touchdowns (207), since he rushed for 10. There’s a reason he was named the greatest player in NFL history in NFL Film’s The Top 100: NFL’s Greatest Players series.
Along with his individual records, Rice was also essential in three San Francisco 49ers Super Bowl victories. Recently, when we had a chance to talk with Rice, we asked him if Joe Montana or Steve Young was the better storyteller.
“Joe was more of a prankster. Steve is more of a serious guy,” said Rice. “But I think it was great that I had the opportunity to help put both of those guys into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.”
Of course, you can’t win them all, so we asked Rice what was harder: losing a Super Bowl or taking second place on Dancing With the Stars.
“Super Bowl. But I still wanted that ugly trophy, too.” Rice said laughing.
What’s next for Jerry Rice
While Rice says he’s never worn all three of his Super Bowl rings out of the house at the same time, that hasn’t stopped him from having a lot of fun with them.
“I take my rings with me and I’ll just give it to people on the airplane. Just out of the blue. It makes their day.”
If you’re wondering, Rice doesn’t have any worries about anyone making off with his rings.
“Where are they going to go? Run to the back of the plane?”
When it came to choosing his most-hated cornerbacks, Rice had two names for us.
“Darrell Green and Deion Sanders. Because they were good.” Rice said, “They were the best and they just gave me a hard time.”
Now, Rice is competing against hunger and food insecurity in the U.S. Working with Quaker Oats, the official oatmeal sponsor of the NFL, he’s joining the Quaker Good Call Challenge. Quaker has committed to donating $125,000 to Feeding America and is asking others to join in the challenge. Along with Drew Brees and Jerome Bettis, Rice is asking people to start collecting spare change they can take to a nearby Coinstar kiosk. By selecting a Feeding America donation, that extra change helps in the fight against hunger.
To learn more about the Quaker Good Call Challenge, visit Quaker’s Instagram page or post to social using #QuakerGoodCall to encourage others to participate.