McGill medical student strikes it rich with NFL’s Chiefs
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif took a few days off from his medical studies this week to make a little bit of history in Kansas City.
“I’m doing a geriatrics rotation, but I had to ask my supervisor for a day off when this contract thing came up,” said DuvernayTardif, who signed a five-year extension with the Kansas City Chiefs. The deal, which kicks in next year, could be worth as much as US$41.25 million with US$20 million guaranteed. The deal will make Duvernay-Tardif one of the five highest-paid guards in the NFL and the highest-paid Canadian football player ever.
“I still pinch me when I realize what’s happened over the last thee years,” Duvernay-Tardif said Tuesday. “I played at McGill for fun because football was my passion. Medical school was also my passion. I was trying to combine both and after my third year, I realized I had some opportunity in football. People were saying, ‘He’s going to be a good player in the CFL.’ ”
But Sasha Ghavami, whose friendship with Duvernay-Tardif goes back to their days at Collêge André Grasset, saw the 6-foot-5, 325-pounder performing on a bigger stage. He arranged for Duvernay-Tardif to train in the U.S., attend the NFL combine, and hosted a pro day at McGill for NFL scouts to watch him.
“All those things booted my notoriety in the U.S. and the next thing I know, I got drafted,” DuvernayTardif said. “When I was drafted (in the sixth round) I was at the top of the world, but then I realized I had to start back at the bottom again. After three years, I climbed the steps to become a decent player, a good player, in the NFL and the organization recognized that by giving me a big vote of confidence with this contract yesterday.”
“It’s like winning the lottery, but not by chance,” Ghavami said. “It’s by work. You look at the numbers and you’re impressed, but you have to look at who’s getting it. There’s no doubt he’ll be doing great things with it, he’ll be responsible with it. It’s more money than anyone needs to live a comfortable life, but we don’t make those numbers. He’s getting his value.”
Ghavami noted he and his client flew back from Kansas City in economy class — “back row up against the wall. He’s the same guy I knew back in CEGEP.”
Duvernay-Tardif said he didn’t plan any major purchases and said he would “put the money aside. I have everything I need. I have a small apartment in the Plateau, I have a car, and it’s the same in Kansas City.”
Duvernay-Tardif met the media Tuesday at Pain dans les voiles, the bakery his parents own on de Castelnau St. off St-Denis St.
“With my crazy schedule with the hospital and football and training, when I want to see my friends, I come here,” he said. “I grab a coffee and I know they’ll be here to listen to me and help me. It was important to come back to my roots, to where I used to work not so long ago and where I still serve some customers.”
On Wednesday, Duvernay-Tardif will return to his geriatric rounds. He has four months of medical school to go before he graduates, but his progress has been slowed by the Chiefs’ success.
“I’ll do two months this year and two months next year,” he said. “I was hoping to finish sooner, but the Chiefs made the playoffs the last two seasons and that took some time away from me. I don’t know how football is going to affect my residency, but I definitely plan to practise medicine in Quebec in the future.”