Rodney Peete

Rodney Peete was born March 16, 1966 in Mesa, Ariz., and was a three-sport athlete in high school, playing football, basketball and baseball. As a junior at Sahuaro High School in Tucson, Ariz., he was named the Arizona High School Player of the Year before transferring to Shawnee Mission South High School in Overland Park, Kan., for his senior year. After graduating, he was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 30th round of the 1984 Major League Baseball Draft, but instead of signing with the team he chose to attend college at the University of Southern California. He played both football and baseball at USC, and on the gridiron he became the school's first player to win the Johnny Unitas Award as the nation's best senior quarterback. Peete also finished second in voting for the Heisman Trophy that season. He was selected in the MLB draft three more times while in college - twice by the Oakland A's and once by the Detroit Tigers - but decided to pursue a professional football career instead. He was chosen in the sixth round - 141st overall - by the Detroit Lions in the 1989 NFL Draft. A preseason knee injury caused Peete to miss the first few games of his rookie season, but he ended up starting eight games that year, leading the team to a record of 3-5. He played five seasons for the Lions, throwing for 38 touchdowns in 47 games. Peete then signed with the Dallas Cowboys for the 1994 season but started just one game that year. Peete married actress Holly Robinson on June 10, 1995. That year, he played the first of four seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, a tenure that was marred by injuries. After starting 12 games in '95, he didn't start more than five games in any of the subsequent three seasons with the team. The Eagles traded Peete to the Washington Redskins in April 1999, but he only played in three games for the team that season and threw just 17 passes. He missed the 2000 season and got on the field for just one game with the Oakland Raiders in 2001, but didn't see any action. His career appeared to get back on track in 2002, when he became the starting quarterback for the Carolina Panthers, leading them to a 7-7 record in 14 starts. Panthers head coach John Fox benched Peete after the first half of the team's season opener in 2003 and he served as the backup to Jake Delhomme through the 2004 season. Peete retired after being released by the Panthers in February 2005. After retiring, Peete became an on-air personality for "The Best Damn Sports Show Period" (Fox Sports Net, 2001-09). In 2016, OWN launched a reality series starring the Peetes, "For Peete's Sake" (OWN, 2016-2017). Although that show lasted just two seasons, the family wasn't off TV for long as the similar "Meet the Peetes" (Hallmark, 2018- ) premiered in February 2018. The Peetes started the HollyRod Foundation non-profit to help raise money and awareness for Parkinson's disease and autism.