In a widely unexpected move Clarett was selected on the first day of the 2005 NFL draft with the final pick of the third round (#101 overall) by the Denver Broncos.
Clarett unsuccessfully challenged the NFL's draft eligibility rules that required a player to be three years removed from high school.
Clarett also made a key defensive play in that game, stealing the ball on the Miami 28 from Hurricanes' safety Sean Taylor, who was returning an interception from the end zone of a pass thrown by Craig Krenzel.
In December 2002, he publicly maligned OSU officials for not paying for him to fly home for the funeral of a friend and accused administrators of lying when they said he had not filed the necessary paperwork.
Federal Judge Shira Scheindlin initially ruled based on anti-trust grounds that the NFL could not bar Clarett from participating in the 2004 draft.
Later, because they both signed agents before being denied the opportunity to join the NFL Draft, the NCAA refused to reinstate the college eligibility of Clarett or Williams.
Notably, while the NFL was successful in blocking Clarett and Williams from entering the draft before 2005, they did allow Pitt wideout Larry Fitzgerald to enter the 2004 draft despite only playing at Pitt for two years without redshirting due to him spending a year at Valley Forge Military Academy and College after high school for academic reasons and the NFL considering that to satisfy the three-year rule; the league considered Clarett and Fitzgerald's cases to be separate.
After running a disappointing 4.72 and 4.82 seconds in the 40-yard dash, he refused to participate further, and was referred to as "Slow-Mo" by the sports media, who were largely critical of his combine performance.
[16] Ohio State declined to allow him to take part in a private workout for pro scouts in Columbus because it wanted to avoid a "circus" situation.
Despite his unimpressive training camp, Clarett signed a four-year contract on July 28, 2005, with the Broncos in which he gave up $413,000 of guaranteed money in order to secure an incentive-laden deal.
[21] In December 2005, Clarett was in talks to play for the Steubenville Stampede, a squad in the North Division of the American Indoor Football League.
There were also discussions about Clarett playing for the semi-pro Eastern Indoor Football League team Mahoning Valley Hitmen coached by Terry.
[23] On August 23, 2010, Clarett was released from a halfway house and requested permission from Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge David Fais to attend a tryout for the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League.
[29] On January 1, 2006, police announced that they were searching for Clarett in relation to two incidents of armed robbery that took place outside the Opium Lounge dance club in Columbus.
His attorneys said that he denied every allegation, saying Clarett "intends to fight this indictment with the same vigor and resolve he displayed in taking OSU to a national championship.
The privately retained attorneys had filed a motion two days earlier saying they wanted to withdraw their counsel, claiming that Clarett was not paying their fees or cooperating in his defense.
[34][35] At a status hearing held on August 9, 2006, pertaining to the January charges, Franklin County Common Pleas Judge David Fais increased Clarett's bond to $1.1 million.
[37] At the hearing, Fais delayed the trial until September 18, 2006, revoked the $1.1 million bond in the case and ordered Clarett to undergo a mental health evaluation.
[38] In the early morning hours of August 9, 2006, Clarett was arrested in Columbus after he made an illegal U-turn and led the police on a chase in a sports utility vehicle reportedly belonging to his uncle.
During the arraignment, Judge Andrea C. Peeples set his bond, on the charges of carrying a concealed weapon without a permit and failure to maintain current lane, at $5 million.
In setting the bond, Peeples agreed with prosecutors that Clarett was now a flight risk or could attempt to intimidate witnesses in his upcoming robbery trial.
[42] Clarett remained lodged in the Franklin County Corrections Center, however, as the $1.1 million bond for the robbery charge was revoked by trial judge David Fais.
According to a Columbus Dispatch report, Clarett, who was due to be tried for his January arrest, was in the neighborhood of one of the principal witnesses against him at the time the events of August 9 occurred.
[citation needed] Clarett enrolled in a distance-learning program at Ohio University while serving his sentence at the Toledo Correctional Institution, working towards earning a bachelor's degree in Geriatrics and Gerontology.
I have the fire in my eyes"[46] During his three and a half years in prison, Clarett shifted his attention to develop his mind by reading psychology books and as much business-related literature as he could, and managed to turn his life around.
While there, he also spoke to an audience of about 500 at the Archie Griffin Grand Ballroom in the Ohio Union, discussing past troubles and his ongoing rehabilitation and the restoration of his reputation.
[51] In 2018, Youngstown City Schools released a report showing that 283 students who received services from The Red Zone saw their GPA increase by an average of 16.5%.
[52] In 2021, Clarett worked as a consultant to collegiate athletic departments like the University of Connecticut[53] helping mentor players and encourage them to focus on their mental wellbeing.