Qwan’tez Stiggers had only been in college for a few days when his world fell apart. Seven months after the car crash that put him in a coma, Stiggers’ father died. Stiggers quit college and returned home to support his mother, Kwanna, and 12 siblings. It was a huge blow to the 18-year-old. His partner, Cheyenne, was also processing a tragedy after her teenage sister had been killed by a stray bullet. Over the last six years, Cheyenne and Qwan’tez have helped each other off the bottom of an emotional well.

Working as a delivery driver and washing trucks while his old teammates progressed in their football careers could have driven him off the rails. “I wouldn’t necessarily say I was envious but I wanted better for myself,” says Stiggers. “I had a child, was living with my wife – my girlfriend at the time – and got those late-night delivery jobs to pay the bills.

“But you can’t base your life off of someone else’s path. You’ve got to create your own success and opportunities. You have to believe in yourself. That’s what I’ve been doing since I was a kid, wake up each day and keep putting that foot forward. You got to get around people that believe in you, too.”

Stiggers’ certainly had that. His mother wrote to every football team she could find asking for a trial, desperate to see her son back doing what he loved. She found Fan Controlled Football on Facebook – a professional seven-on-seven indoor football league where fans vote on play calls – and they signed him up. It wasn’t the NFL but it was a start: his first paying gig in his sport.

Was her determination annoying at the time? “I really didn’t know how to feel,” admits Stiggers. “I was telling her: ‘You know, football might just be the least of my worries. I just want to focus on getting a job and having you take care of my siblings. But then, look what she did. It all worked out in the end.”

Stiggers only needed to attend one try-out. “I went there, killed it and ended up making the team. I’ll always believe in myself, mentally, physically and spiritually.” Stiggers was then spotted by a Toronto Argonauts scout, who sent him up to Ontario for a trial. Sixteen games later he was voted the outstanding rookie in the Canadian Football League – the first defensive back to be crowned in 25 years – and every NFL team knew who he was.

He was drafted by the New York Jets in the fifth round in 2024, making him the first player this millennium taken straight from the CFL without doing time in college football. When the Jets’ first-round pick, Olu Fashanu, was starring for Penn State at Beaver Stadium in front of 100,000 fans, Stiggers had been playing seven-a-side in a former fertiliser processing plant.

If Stiggers had impostor syndrome, he did not show it. His route to the top was unusual but the 24-year-old has benefited from his varied experiences. “It’s really your mindset,” he says. “I still joke with my old Argonauts coach about him telling me: ‘Just to let you know, you might be the first person we cut.’ I’m just like: ‘Hmm, no, I don’t think so.’ And I went out there and pretty sure I led the defence and interceptions.”

“No dream is too big, no dream is too small. As long as you work hard, you could do whatever you want. I always knew I had the skill set to be a professional. Competition is competition: you just gotta go out there and be a dog about it. You can’t let anyone take your food. You gotta protect me, eat your own food.”

Stiggers played in 29 games in his first two NFL seasons, sparkling on special team plays, especially on kickoffs. “Right now it’s about knowing my role and not letting nobody minimise it, whether that’s running down on special teams or going to the game at cornerback. It’s all about just wearing my opportunity.”

He is the fifth of 13 siblings and feels a responsibility for his family. “Everybody older than me has jobs, one younger brother is going to trade school, and I think my youngest brother is in ninth grade. They all play football. I had one sister who passed away and my other sister is manager of a PetSmart warehouse in Georgia. She probably makes more money than me.”

That seems unlikely. Two years after being paid $400 a week by FCF, Stiggers was getting more than $1m a year from the Jets. Stiggers has been wise to invest that. “The money is really for everybody. I just bought 13 acres in Georgia and am going to build a house. I’m putting money up for my kids for college and helping my little brothers: buying them clothes, shoes and food, because, unfortunately, when I went to college I wasn’t able to have all the luxuries by getting money from my parents. But, money is money. It will come and go. I’m all about the memories.”

He recognises that the tragedy of losing his father, sister and sister-in-law shaped his approach to life. “I’m grateful for just waking up every day. A lot of people take that for granted. Any opportunity is great, no matter how big or small. It’s all about just waiting. And, you know, my time probably came.”

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