Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback turned FOX Sports analyst Terry Bradshaw has admitted he was shocked that he ever had the athletisim to play in the NFL
13:05 ET, 14 Nov 2025
Terry Bradshaw retired from football in 1983
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Terry Bradshaw retired from football in 1983(Image: Getty Images)
Four-time Super Bowl winner Terry Bradshaw has admitted to being shocked he ever became an NFL quarterback.
While the 77-year-old is better known nowadays for his TV broadcasting gig with FOX Sports, where he was recently left slightly red-faced after missing an adjustment made by the Los Angeles Rams, Bradshaw was the Pittsburgh Steelers starting quarterback for over a decade, playing for the team that drafted him first overall in the 1970 NFL Draft from that year, through till 1983.
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During that time, the Steelers hoisted four Super Bowl trophies, with Bradshaw, who enjoyed a legendary career, winning two Super Bowl MVPs for his performances against the Dallas Cowboys in 1979 and the Rams in 1980 the following year.
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He was also named the league's MVP in 1978, the same year he was first-team All-Pro, too.
However, despite having enjoyed a legendary career with Pittsburgh, Bradshaw has admitted that he is shocked he was ever able to play in the NFL due to his childhood growing up.
Speaking to former NFL player Tim Green and his son Troy on their 'Nothing Left Unsaid' podcast, Bradshaw explained how growing up, he could not remember ever playing catch in the backyard with his dad, making his transition to being an NFL starter for over a decade shocking to him.
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Asked by Tim about his brothers, Bradshaw detailed how he could understand how he was big enough to play in the NFL, given the height of his parents, but also added that he was confused that he ever developed into becoming a quarterback.
"All of us are big," replied Bradshaw.
"I went into the NFL 6-foot-3-and-five-eighths, I've shrunk quite a bit. I'm probably 6-foot-1-and-a-half now. My brother Gary's 6-foot1, my younger brother's 6-foot-4. So all good-sized men. It came from my mother's side.
Terry Bradshaw was named the MVP of Super Bowl XIV against the Los Angeles Rams
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Terry Bradshaw was named the MVP of Super Bowl XIV against the Los Angeles Rams(Image: Photo by Nate Fine/Getty Images)
"My mother was 5-foot-10, my dad was 6-foot-1, my mother's family, her father was an Englishman, and he was 6-foot-4, tall, tall skinny guy.
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"And my grandmother was 5-foot-1, and she was a German lady. So you would say, ok, got it from my grandfather. Athletic talent, it's kind of hard. I don't know where that came from.
"Probably once again, my mother, who was very athletic, very competitive. And my dad didn't have an athletic bone in his body. I can honestly tell you Tim, I don't ever recall throwing the football with my father. Not one time.
"I barely can remember if ever we played catch with a baseball. So how I became a quarterback in the NFL is as big a shock to me as it is anybody else."