Ryan Leaf: Former NFL QB Sentenced to 9 Months at Drug Treatment Facility

Since cementing himself as perhaps the biggest bust in NFL history, former San Diego Chargers quarterback Ryan Leaf has been plagued by controversy.

That continues to be the case, as he was sentenced to treatment on Tuesday stemming from an incident in which he broke into a house and stole pain pills.

According to the Associated Press, Leaf was sentenced to 15 months of lockdown, nine of which will be served in the Nexus Treatment Center in Lewistown, Mont. in an effort to curtail his drug addiction. He is then expected to spend the remaining six months in a pre-release center, and he could be eligible for monitored release after that if things go well.

Leaf pleaded guilty to one count each of felony burglary and criminal possession of a dangerous drug last month after he broke into a house on April 1 to steal pain pills. He also was in possession of nonprescription Oxycodone, according to the report.

That incident didn't mark the first time that Leaf had broken into a home to get his fix; he did the same in 2010, stealing prescription pain pills from a player's home when he was a coach at West Texas A&M University. He also obtained 1,000 pain pills over an eight-month span in Texas, which resulted in a 10-year probationary sentence, according to the Associated Press.

Leaf has been in jail since being arrested in April, but he may finally be getting the proper help he needs in order to move on with his life. When the Chargers selected him No. 2 overall in the 1998 NFL draft behind Peyton Manning, there were thoughts that he could develop into one of the best quarterbacks of his time—but that didn't come to fruition, and it has to have affected him during his life after football.

Leaf would start just 18 games with the Chargers, throwing 13 touchdowns as opposed to a whopping 33 interceptions. After his disappointing stint in San Diego, Leaf joined the Dallas Cowboys in 2001, starting three games and throwing just one touchdown. His time in the league was marred by inconsistent play on the field and wild mood swings off it.

And those things were certainly a sign of what was to come for Leaf.

Regardless of how poor of a player and person Leaf was while in the NFL, it is never good to see somebody go through such personal hardships. Leaf appeared to be back on track when he was coaching at West Texas A&M, but his addictions obviously took over his life. While that remains true, he now has a chance to rid himself of his vices and eventually move on with his life.

Leaf will forever be known as one of the biggest busts in NFL history no matter what he does during life after football, but he is being given a golden opportunity to atone for all the bad that he has done. If Leaf completes the program and becomes a productive member of society once again, then from his point of view, I'm sure that will trump his shortcomings on the field.

Follow Mike Chiari on Twitter.