Moon began his professional career with the Eskimos in 1978 after not generating interest from NFL teams. His success during his six CFL seasons, five of which ended in Grey Cup victories, resulted in him being signed by the Oilers in 1984. During his 17 NFL seasons, Moon was named Offensive Player of the Year in 1990 after leading the league in passing yards and passing touchdowns. He led the NFL in passing yards twice, while also receiving nine Pro Bowl selections. Moon spent 10 seasons with the Oilers, whom he led to seven playoff appearances, and made an eighth postseason run with the Vikings before retiring in 2000.
At the time of his retirement, Moon held several all-time professional gridiron football passing records. Although relatively unsuccessful in the NFL postseason, his five consecutive Grey Cups from 1978 to 1982 remain a CFL record and he was named Grey Cup MVP twice. He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006, becoming the first African-American quarterback and the first undrafted quarterback to receive the honor. Moon is also the only player inducted to both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
Despite his collegiate success, Moon was led to believe he would only be a late-round NFL pick and was fearful that would lead to a limited opportunity to make it in the NFL.
Six weeks before the NFL draft, Moon signed with the Edmonton Eskimos. He and Tom Wilkinson shared signal-calling duties from 1978 to 1981, winning four consecutive Grey Cups during this span.
Moon became Edmonton's No. 1 quarterback midway through the 1980 season. That year, the team won their third consecutive Grey Cup, and Moon won his first Grey Cup Offensive MVP award as Edmonton defeated Hamilton 48–10.
In 1981, Moon started his first year as Edmonton's No. 1 quarterback with Wilkinson, who would retire after the season, as the team's No. 2 quarterback. Moon was moved to the reserve list for Edmonton's game against Ottawa on October 12. During the Grey Cup, Moon was struggling and Edmonton was trailing Ottawa 20–0 in the second quarter. At this time, Moon was replaced by Wilkinson. Moon returned in the second half and directed drives for three touchdowns and the game winning field goal with three seconds remaining in the game. Edmonton defeated Ottawa 26–23 to win a CFL record fourth consecutive Grey Cup.
In 1982, Moon became the first professional quarterback to pass for 5,000 yards in a season by reaching exactly 5,000 yards. Edmonton would recover from a 3–5 start to finish the regular season 11–5, and first place in the West Division for the sixth consecutive season. The team qualified for the Grey Cup for the sixth consecutive season, and won the Grey Cup for the fifth consecutive year. Moon was named the Grey Cup Offensive MVP for the second time in his career.
In his final CFL season, 1983, Moon threw for a league-record 5,648 yards and won the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award. However, the season was not as successful for the Eskimos as they finished with an 8–8 record. Having barely made the playoffs (which they would have missed altogether if not for a loss by the Calgary Stampeders to the last place Saskatchewan Roughriders in the last week of the regular season), Moon's Eskimos were throttled in Winnipeg by the Blue Bombers in the West semi-final.
In his six years in the CFL, Moon amassed 1,369 completions on 2,382 attempts (57.4 completion percentage) for 21,228 yards and 144 touchdown passes. He also led his team to victory in nine of 10 postseason games. Moon was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Eskimos' Wall of Honour. In 2006, he was ranked fifth on a list of the greatest 50 CFL players presented by Canadian sports network TSN.
Moon's decision to enter the NFL touched off a bidding war for his services, won by the Houston Oilers, led by Hugh Campbell, his head coach for his first five seasons in Edmonton.[3] Gifford Nielsen—the starting quarterback in 1983—retired after Moon joined the team, stating that Moon becoming the starter was inevitable. Moon had a difficult adjustment period, but threw for a franchise-record 3,338 yards in his first season in 1984, but Campbell was just 8–22 (.267) at the helm and did not finish the 1985 season. When new head coach Jerry Glanville found ways to best use Moon's strong arm in 1986, the team began having success. In the strike-marred 1987 season, the Oilers posted a 9–6 record, their first winning season since 1980. In his first postseason game in the NFL, Moon passed for 237 yards and a touchdown in the Oilers' 23–20 overtime win over the Seattle Seahawks in the wildcard round of the playoffs.
Prior to the 1989 season, Moon signed a five-year, $10-million contract extension, which made him the highest-paid player in the NFL at that time. In 1990, Moon led the league with 4,689 passing yards. He also led the league in attempts (584), completions (362), and touchdowns (33), and tied Dan Marino's record with nine 300-yard games in a season. That included throwing for 527 yards against Kansas City on December 16, 1990, the second-most passing yards ever in a single game. The following year, he again led the league in passing yards, with 4,690. At the same time, he joined Marino and Dan Fouts as the only quarterbacks to post back-to-back 4,000-yard seasons. Moon also established new NFL records that season with 655 attempts and 404 completions.
In 1992, Moon played only 11 games due to injuries, but the Oilers still managed to achieve a 10–6 record, including a victory over the Buffalo Bills, in the final game of the season. A week later, the Oilers faced the Bills again in the first round of the AFC playoffs. Aided by Moon's 222 passing yards and four touchdowns in the first half, Houston built up a 28–3 halftime lead and increased it to 35–3 when Buffalo quarterback Frank Reich's first pass of the third quarter was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. The Bills stormed back with five unanswered second-half touchdowns to take a 38–35 lead with time running out in the final period. Moon managed to lead the Oilers on a last-second field goal drive to tie the game at 38 and force overtime, but threw an interception in the extra period that set up Buffalo kicker Steve Christie's game-winning field goal. The Bills' rally from a 32-point deficit[24] at that time was the largest comeback victory in NFL history and became known in NFL lore simply as the Comeback. Moon finished the game with 36 completions for 371 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions. His 36 completions was an NFL postseason record.
The 1993 season was the Oilers' best with Moon, but was his last with the team. Despite a drama-filled 1–4 start and early struggles from Moon, Houston went 12–4 and won the AFC Central division crown, but lost to Joe Montana and the Kansas City Chiefs 28–20 in the divisional round of the playoffs.
Moon set a franchise record with Houston for wins with 70, which stood until Steve McNair broke it in 2004, long after the team had become the Tennessee Titans. Moon also left the Oilers as the franchise leader in passing touchdowns, passing yards, pass attempts, and pass completions, all of which still stand today.
Moon was traded to the Minnesota Vikings after the season, where he passed for over 4,200 yards in each of his first two seasons, but missed half of the 1996 season with a broken collarbone. The Vikings' starting quarterback job was given to Brad Johnson and Moon was released after he refused to take a $3.8-million pay cut to serve as Johnson's backup.
Moon signed with the Seattle Seahawks as a free agent in 1997, made the Pro Bowl, and was named Pro Bowl MVP. He played for them for two seasons.
Moon signed as a free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs as a backup in 1999. He played in only three games in two years with the Chiefs and announced his retirement at age 44 in January 2001. His 291st and final touchdown pass was an 8-yard pass to Troy Drayton against the Rams on October 22, 2000, a game in which the Chiefs defeated the defending champs, 54–34.
Combining his NFL and CFL stats, Moon's numbers are nearly unmatched in professional football annals: 5,357 completions in 9,205 attempts for 70,553 yards and 435 touchdowns. Even if his Canadian Football League statistics are discounted, Moon's NFL career numbers are still exceptional: 3,988 completions for 49,325 yards, 291 touchdown passes, 1,736 yards rushing, and 22 rushing touchdowns. Moon also held individual NFL lifetime records for most fumbles recovered (56) and most fumbles made (162), but this was surpassed by Brett Favre in 2010. Moon was in the top five all-time when he retired for passing yards, passing touchdowns, pass attempts, and pass completions.
Moon has mentored Cam Newton, the first overall pick of the 2011 NFL draft, alluding to their common experiences as prominent African-American quarterbacks. He was suspended indefinitely from his sportscaster position after he was sued in December 2017 for sexual harassment.
In 1981, Moon married Felicia Hendricks, whom he had known since they were 16 years old. They had three children together and divorced in 2001.
Moon married his second wife Mandy Ritter in 2005. They had one child and are currently separated.
Moon currently lives in Redmond, Washington. In 1989, he launched the Crescent Moon Foundation, which provides college scholarships for economically disadvantaged students. Moon also supports various charitable organizations including the United Negro College Fund, Ronald McDonald House, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, American Heart Association, and Cerebral Palsy Foundation.
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