LeRoy Butler is one of the greatest safeties in NFL history. He was a four-time All-Pro and won a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers, but coming out of college, his real wish was to play for the Dallas Cowboys after his favorite player, Legendary Cowboys wide receiver Drew Pearson, retired shortly before Butler entered the league.

In an exclusive interview with EssentiallySports, Butler revealed he badly wished to be drafted by the Cowboys, and it was Pearson who made him become a Dallas fan. “Well, to be honest with you, I was a Cowboys fan growing up. I really wanted to go to the Cowboys badly. Drew Pearson was my favorite – No. 88. I remember my uncle, he is a [Chicago] Bears fan. He said, ‘Go anywhere but the Packers. I don’t like the Packers.’ Again, God is good. And the Packers drafted me.”

If Butler’s wish came true, who knows what his career might’ve looked like? Would he have been named an All-Pro four times? Would he still have become a Hall of Famer? We’ll never know, but I think he’s very glad he ended up in Green Bay.

Drew Pearson and the Dallas Cowboys’ dominance

Butler was born in 1968, meaning he grew up during some of the Cowboys’ best times. From 1970-1979, the Cowboys represented the NFC in the Super Bowl four times. They won two of those Super Bowls in 1971 and 1977, which certainly played a factor in Butler’s fandom.

Drew Pearson wasn’t around for the Cowboys’ first Super Bowl in 1971. He was drafted in 1973, but quickly made a name for himself, catching 62 passes for 1,082 yards in his second year in the league. Pearson would rattle off five more 700+ yard seasons in a row, and finished as a First-Team All-Pro in three of those years. In 1977, Pearson led the league in yards as he helped the Cowboys claim their second Super Bowl in franchise history.

Butler was nine years old when the Cowboys claimed that second title, and it made him a fan for life. He got to grow up watching one of the greatest receivers of his generation dominate the league for a decade, and as a kid who got to watch Drew Brees and later became a Saints fan, I know just how impactful someone like that can be.

What being drafted by the Packers meant to Butler

Growing up, Butler didn’t have much. He grew up in poverty with his mom as a single parent. Football – both watching it and playing it – was one of his escapes, so when he realized he had a real chance to go pro, he put all of his focus into making it to the NFL.

After a successful college career at Florida State, the Cowboys passed on Butler. But it wasn’t long until the Packers scooped him up with the 48th pick in the draft. Butler signed a three-year, $970,000 contract with the Packers out of college. It may not sound like much compared to what players are making nowadays, but adjusted for inflation, that three-year deal would be worth nearly $2.5-million today.

He went from having next to nothing to making more money than 99.9 percent of people. His hard work and determination completely changed his, and his families, lives.

“For me, it was amazing because I grew up in extreme poverty,” Butler told EssentiallySports. “I always wanted to play in the NFL, watching it on TV. Coming from poverty, from my mom being a single parent, and just doing it. I mean, it was a shock to go from extreme poverty to having wealth. It was amazing.”

Butler went on to make nearly $15-million in his 12-year NFL career. That alone is an incredible feat, but when you consider he accomplished more than 99.9 percent of NFL players will ever accomplish by winning a Super Bowl and being inducted into the Hall of Fame, it makes Butler’s career look even more incredible.

And who knows, if he was drafted by the Cowboys, all of that may have never happened.