The next step

At age 26, Kurt Warner found himself at a career crossroads.

Warner was coming off a highly successful three-year run with the Iowa Barnstormers. He had NFL dreams haunting him and knew he had to make a move. That move was toward the NFL Europe League.

Warner was signed by the St. Louis Rams early in 1998. The Rams signed him to a one-year contract and allocated him to what was then the NFL Europe League, which was formerly the World League and ended up as NFL Europa before it disbanded last spring. He played for the Amsterdam Admirals under Coach Al Luginbill.

"I had three great years in the Arena League and I couldn't ask for much more," Warner told The Gazette. "I had a good career in Iowa and I really enjoyed it, but I want to give the NFL one more shot."

In his one season with the Admirals, Warner beat out Jake Delhomme for the starting job. The quarterbacks met in the NFC Divisional playoffs this season, with Warner guiding his Arizona Cardinals past Delhomme's Carolina Panthers, 33-13.

"Jake had the stronger arm, he moved better, could make the big throws and big plays a lot better than I could," Warner said before their playoff matchup. "All I was hoping, no offense to Jake, was that he would make a few more mistakes than me so that the coaches would give me a chance ... I just knew at that point in time that was my last chance.

"He was a young kid and he was going to get another opportunity, but I was never going to get that opportunity."

Warner made about $20,000 for the NFL Europe's 10-game league, less incentives. But he was in Europe for much more than money.

"I'm not real old. In fact, I think I have quite a few good years left," Warner said at the time. "But there's not going to be many more chances in the NFL.

"If nothing works out, I'll be happy to go back to the Barnstormers. I'm not ready to quit playing yet."

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