Rams RB Terrance Ganaway takes offseason minimum wage job as Jimmy John’s sandwich maker

If you happen to walk into a Jimmy John’s sandwich shop in Waco, Texas, and notice the guy working behind the counter looks an awful lot like a professional football player, that’s probably because he is one.

Terranace Ganaway, who just completed his rookie season with the St. Louis Rams, has taken an offseason job working for a local Jimmy John’s sandwich shop. Ganaway appeared in three games last season and made the league minimum wage of $390,000. You figure that someone earning a six-figure wage would not want to work at a sandwich shop for around $7 an hour, but not Ganaway.

The story of Ganaway’s job has been told through his Twitter account over the past five weeks, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote about it in an article published Thursday.

We went back through Ganaway’s Twitter timeline to see how the whole thing unfolded. It all started with a Jan. 15 tweet from Ganaway asking if anyone in Waco was hiring:

I am about to put in a application somewhere! Who hiring in Waco?

— Terrance Ganaway (@RepChrist24) January 15, 2013

Someone on Twitter told him to come work for Jimmy John’s because they were hiring:

@repchrist24 Jimmy John’s! Come work with us!

— Colton Smith (@Colton_RSmith) January 15, 2013

Ganaway then had a long exchange with the employee who recommended Jimmy John’s. He ended up applying and was hired for a part-time job.

Three weeks later, Ganaway proudly tweeted that he was getting ready for his first day of work:

Start working at Jimmy John’s tonight!

— Terrance Ganaway (@RepChrist24) February 4, 2013

Ganaway has been working steadily since then. He’s done autograph promotions while he’s been on shift, and he even lamented having his hours cut last week.

Of course, the strange job choice has everyone asking the same question: why would Ganaway, who rushed for 1,567 yards and 21 touchdowns at Baylor in 2011 as a teammate of Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III, want to work at a sandwich shop cutting meat, baking bread, sweeping floors, and cleaning tables? Ganaway answered that.

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

Ganaway elaborated on his reasons in the Post-Dispatch’s story.

“I just wanted to stay fit, stay out of trouble, and really just try to save money and not spend a lot of money,” he told the Post-Dispatch’s Jim Thomas.

Ganaway works Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, from 5-9 p.m, which is enough to keep him busy, but not enough to prevent him from training. He says he still works out nearly every day, sometimes twice a day.

Though the job may sound easy, it hasn’t been for Ganaway. He told the Post-Dispatch that there is pressure to make several sandwiches very quickly, and that it’s been tough learning the sandwich menu.

“Got to learn everything on the menu,” he said. “It’s something that I’m learning every day. You’ve got to know your sandwich.”

Ganaway also heard from one of the store’s managers about talking too much football with some of the guests, so he has to curb the amount of socializing he’s doing on the job.

Ganaway was a sixth-round draft pick of the New York Jets last year and was waived before the season began. He was picked up by the Rams and remained with them for the season. The Post-Dispatch says he may have a larger role ahead of him as a big back in the team’s offense.

This is a pretty awesome story. We admire Ganaway’s humility and openness to taking the job. We’ve seen other athletes pull similar stunts in the past, but this seems much more genuine. If things don’t work out in football, at least he has something to fall back on.

Photo credit: Twitter/Heath Nielsen
H/T Reddit NFL