Michael Sam Signs Four-Year Contract With St. Louis Rams

From: Queerty

Michael Sam, the first openly gay football player to be drafted by the NFL, has officially become the first openly gay player to transcend the draft and land an NFL contract.

According to Fox Sports, the St. Louis Rams signed Sam and the rest of the Rams rookie class (11 new players) on Thursday, offering Sam a reported four-year, $2.65 million contract. The brand new paycheck will probably only cushion Sam’s income from partnership deals — before being drafted, he had already become a spokesman for Visa, launched a line of merchandise, and was courted for an OWN documentary.

Earlier this week, Sam told NFL.com that his transition into the NFL had been developing flawlessly. “They treat me like a football player,” he said.

After signing his contract on Thursday, Sam tweeted that he was “grateful, humbled, and motivated.”

Grateful, humbled, and motivated after officially signing with all my Rams rookie brothers. Let's do this!! #RamUp pic.twitter.com/quFCf01tJw

— Michael Sam (@MichaelSamNFL) June 12, 2014