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When Ryan Fitzpatrick had his NFL dreams, he wanted what all the kids wanted.
Fitzpatrick had hoped to stay with one team for his entire career, but as he recently told Pak Gazette Digital, “That wasn’t my story.”
Instead, Fitzpatrick holds the NFL record as a starter for nine different teams and owns many other oddities when it comes to suiting up for nearly a third of NFL organizations.
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New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (14) drops back to pass against the Tennessee Titans during the first quarter at MetLife Stadium on December 13, 2015. (Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports)
“I always wanted to play. So wherever I went, it was usually with the intention of becoming a starter and playing somewhere. Then, inevitably, someone would get drafted, and I would move on and go play somewhere else because I was a guy who enjoyed being on the field and not sitting on the bench watching,” Fitzpatrick said. “So that was the way I was going to be able to do it, to keep moving from team to team.”
It was certainly an unorthodox career, and Fitzpatrick is the definition of a “journeyman,” having played for the Buffalo Bills, New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, Cincinnati Bengals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, St. Louis Rams, Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans and Washington Commanders.
But “I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
“A big part of it was the amount of teammates I was able to have, but it was also the journey I was able to go on with my wife and kids, and all the great people we met outside of football,” Fitzpatrick said.
Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick celebrates his winning touchdown pass to Mike Gesicki in the second half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
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“Our neighbors and friends, there are relationships in every city that we will maintain forever. So, yeah, I think when people get drafted, everyone has this notion that they’re going to be with the same team for their entire career. That wasn’t my story. I wouldn’t trade it for anything because I loved every second of it.”
Those relationships have helped Fitzpatrick off the field, as he will once again be one of the many celebrities participating in this month’s American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe. This year, he teamed up with Performance Golf to lower his handicap a few strokes in hopes of being near the top of the leaderboard.
“The American Century is a lot of fun. It’s a great group of guys and girls that are playing, and it really feels like a family because everyone comes every year,” Fitzpatrick said.
Ryan Fitzpatrick watches from the set of TNF on Prime before an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on November 20, 2025 in Houston, Texas. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
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“You get to spend time together, and that’s what happens on the golf course. It’s a little different from a golf tournament, A, because we’re not all great golfers, but B, because of the interactions we have with the fans throughout the tournament. That’s probably my favorite part.”
