For Terrance Ganaway, there are few more fitting employers than Jimmy Johns.
After all, the sandwich shop prides itself on making "subs so fast you'll freak." And as a running back, Ganaway knows a thing or two about speed.
The former Baylor star and current St. Louis Rams backup sent out a half-joking tweet in January, asking if anyone in the Waco area was hiring. Someone from Jimmy Johns responded to Ganaway, and so he applied and got hired in early February.
And this isn't just a gag gig. Ganaway works part time, 12 hours a week, and he does just about everything you'd imagine.
"I'm on the line that makes the sandwiches," Ganaway told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "I bake bread. Take the cashier spot. I had to sweep the other day. Clean the tables. I mean, all types of stuff. Slice the meat. Wrap the meat."
Ganaway says he got the job as a way to keep himself occupied during his spare time. But fear not, Rams fans, Ganaway knows where his priorities lie.
"My No. 1 job is being an NFL player," Ganaway told the Post-Dispatch. "So don’t get it confused as to me working at Jimmy John’s has me lazy. ... I know what I have to do. I know how to get in shape and I know what it takes to perform at a high level. Really, Jimmy John’s is just to keep me out of trouble in all the down time we have in the offseason."
Far from standing around and doing nothing, Ganaway is actually quite busy at Jimmy Johns. He's had to learn all the sandwich combinations, and how to make them very quickly.
Ganaway has gone from earning the rookie minimum ($390,000) in the NFL to around minimum wage at Jimmy Johns. His salary for the upcoming season will be $480,000, but NFL contracts are not guaranteed, which means he gets nothing if the team cuts him. Money, though, is hardly the most important part of his Jimmy Johns work.
Ok everyone wants to know why I am working at Jimmy John's...well I am going to answer that.
— Terrance Ganaway (@RepChrist24) February 8, 2013
3 reasons: 1. I have too much free time. 2. Tell my kids I worked two jobs to put them through school. 3. Cause the pay is really good.
— Terrance Ganaway (@RepChrist24) February 8, 2013
Kudos to Ganaway, who played in three games for the Rams, for putting in these extra hours. As we've learned far too often, success is fleeting in the professional football realm, and someone like Ganaway could get waived any day (like he did last year by the New York Jets). So if his career is cut short, Ganaway will already have a head start.
Plus, Ganaway does have a good point when he says this job will keep him out of trouble. As a reserve running back he has almost no room for error, so by putting in these hours he's protecting himself against any potentially harmful mistake.
