Ferragamo became Cal's starting quarterback for the final three games of his true freshman season in 1972 and remained the starter through the following year. Ferragamo chose to transfer to top-ranked Nebraska in 1974.[1] As a Cornhusker, he lettered in 1975 and 1976.
Drafted in the fourth round of the 1977 NFL draft, Ferragamo mostly sat on the bench in 1977 and 1978, behind Pat Haden (and in 1977, an aging Joe Namath). In 1979, Haden broke a finger in mid-season, giving Ferragamo his shot. After leading the 9–7 Rams to road victories over the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC playoffs, Ferragamo started in Super Bowl XIV in Pasadena, making him the first quarterback to start a Super Bowl in the same season as his first career start.[3] The underdog Rams led after three quarters of play before falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 31–19.[4]
Ferragamo enjoyed his best statistical season in 1980 in which he threw for 30 touchdowns, tied for second most in the NFL. The Rams again made the playoffs, but were defeated by Dallas, 34–13, in the wild card game.
Canadian Football League
In 1981, Ferragamo jumped to the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League, thanks to a $600,000-a-year contract (a large amount even by NFL standards, especially compared to $250,000 the Rams offered him, and the $47,500 they had paid him for 1980.)[5] However, Ferragamo had a difficult time adjusting to the style of Canadian football, completing 175 of 342 passes (51.2%) for 2,175 yards, with only seven touchdown passes against 25 interceptions. He was demoted to backup to Gerry Dattilio in the latter half of the season and then to third-string quarterback for the final three games after Ken Johnson arrived in a trade. Montreal went on to a disastrous 3–13 season, but made the playoffs anyway due to weak East Division. (Montreal lost the Eastern semi-final to Ottawa; Ferragamo watched from the pressbox.)
In a span of less than eight months, he was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated twice, in December 1980,[6] and July 1981.[5]
Return to NFL
Ferragamo returned to the Rams in 1982, as the backup to Bert Jones, who was sidelined with a neck injury. Late in the strike-shortened season on December 26, Ferragamo threw for 509 yards in a home loss to the Chicago Bears,[7] at the time the second highest mark for passing yards in a game in league history behind former Ram Norm Van Brocklin in 1951. (As of 2022, Ferragamo's performance remains the 15th-best in NFL history.)
In 1984, Ferragamo was again the Rams' starting quarterback. But in a 24–14 loss at Pittsburgh on September 16, he broke a finger on his throwing hand in what became his last game for the Rams.[8] In 1985, Ferragamo moved on to the Buffalo Bills, but won only one of nine starts, eventually losing the starter's job to Bruce Mathison. In 1986, he served as Randy Wright's backup for the Green Bay Packers, then retired from football.
Ferragamo owns Touchdown Real Estate in Orange County,[9] and Ferragamo-Migneco Vineyards in Santa Maria, California.[10] He is the chairman of the Vince Ferragamo Foundation, a non-profit charitable organization begun in 1996 that focuses on raising donations for children's organizations such as the Special Olympics,[11] the Speech and Language Development Center and Ronald McDonald House Charities.
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