Crushable obtained this exclusive photo of Eric Johnson Needham High School Class of ’97. He’s at the center of Jessica Simpson‘s latest tabloid drama, cast as her married boyfriend. Eric is an ex-NFL tight-end for the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers and the duo have been going out for five weeks, despite the fact Eric is still married and going through a divorce from wife Keri Johnson. That may sound questionable, but a source who grew up with Eric told Crushable that there’s nothing sleazy about him.
In fact, the popular captain of the football team at Needham High in Needham, Mass. (where he was a tight-end and wide receiver) was a model student. An all-A student with tons of friends (despite being an only child), Eric was also named Best Volleyball Player in Massachusetts his senior year after picking up the sport only months before. Eric was a three-sport jock; he also played basketball for his school.
Of course, no one’s perfect. Though if the worst one can say about Eric is that he once smoked a joint at an Allman Brothers concert — which is what Crushable’s source told us — that’s still a pretty squeaky-clean image. After all, who wouldn’t toke up at the Allman Brothers?
With his good grades and excellent sports record, Eric had no problems getting into Yale, where he studied to become an investment banker and broke every football record as the school’s wide receiver before getting picked during the last round of the NFL draft in 2001. His career in pro sports was not long for this world though, as an injury lead him to miss two seasons while playing for the San Francisco 49ers. After a year playing for the New Orleans Saints, which he joined in 2007, he retired, presumably due to injury. He is now (according to Wikipedia) a “semi-professional eater.”
And, most importantly, Jessica Simpson’s latest main squeeze.
