Tom Brady’s former Patriots backup, Jimmy Garoppolo, just signed a record breaking five-year-contract with the San Francisco 49ers for an eye watering $137.5 million.
Garoppolo, 26, was acquired from the New England Patriots mid-season in 2017 in exchange for a second-round pick.
He took over the starting job three weeks later and went on to complete 67.4 percent of his passes for 1,560 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions while starting five of six games.
Garoppolo’s been touted as having Hollywood good looks, and a blue collar upbringing, but his high school coach told the Mercury News his real secret.
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, 26, just signed a record five-year contract with the 49ers for an eye-watering $137.5million
The San Francisco 49ers locked in an about to be free agent Garoppolo in an record breaking contract
Garoppolo was most recently with the Patriots as Tom Brady’s back up (pictured together)
‘He comes from a great family,’ said Doug Millsaps, Garoppolo’s coach at Rolling Meadows High School.
‘That’s what separates him from the wannabes and the average leaders. He’s had a stable and humbling family life.’
Garoppolo had been scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next month, but 49ers general manager John Lynch was not going to let him get away, signing the historic deal.
His former teammate, Julian Edelman took to Twitter to congratulate him on the deal, but first he just had to make a crack about Garoppolo’s fat paycheck.
‘Yo bubs, about the 20 dollars you owe me…. I mean …. congrats jimbo slice’ the Patriots wide receiver tweeted.
After his arrival in San Francisco, Brady’s former backup turned the downtrodden team around into a winning streak behemoth.
The 49ers went 5-0 in Garoppolo’s starts.
The former second-round pick has never lost an NFL start.
The Illinois native has said he comes from a large tight-knit Italian family, and has three brothers.
Brady with Garoppolo and Pats wide reciever Julian Edelman who cracked about that 20 bucks the new 49ers QB owes him before giving his congrats over Twitter
How about that 20 dollars, I mean congrats: Edelman joked on Twitter to his former teammate
‘I had to put my phone away the past couple days,’ Garoppolo said just before his first starting game with the 49ers- against the Chicago Bears- with family and friends more than excited to attend. ‘I’m trying to focus.’
His family is still deeply rooted in Illinois, his father Tony, an electrician, and his mom, Denise, is a cook.
In 2014 when he was drafted by the NFL, he took his entire family on their first trip to New York for the ceremony.