He played college football for the Marshall Thundering Herd, where he won the 1992 Walter Payton Award.
Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Payton attended Central Dauphin East High School and was spotted by Marshall University coach George Chaump.
[1][2] Payton originally intended to play for Chaump at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) and had an apartment rented there.
[5][6][3] That season, he led Marshall to the NCAA Division I championship game, where the Herd finished as runners-up.
[7] Payton also set the Division I-AA record for season passing efficiency and was named Southern Conference Player of the Year.
[16][3] At Marshall, he played frequently with future New England Patriots receiver Troy Brown.
[3] After graduating from college Payton had a brief stint with the Dallas Cowboys as a free agent but his time there was cut short by compartment syndrome, which caused numbness in one of his feet.
He was also a senior counsellor for Alternative Rehabilitation Communities, a personal trainer and life coach.