He turned down a similar offer from Sprint

HOUSTON–Vince Young, the quarterback who led the Texas Longhorns to a BCS Championship and narrowly missed winning a Heisman Trophy, announced today that he is signing a long-term deal with AT&T, effectively locking up his cell phone service for the foreseeable future.

Young, who was named to the 2007 NFL Pro Bowl following a promising rookie season with the Tennessee Titans, hasn’t played football since he had a backup role with the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2011 season, but he claims he should be hearing from some quarterback-needy team any day now.

“That’s what makes this deal so important,” Young says, “I have to have reliable cell service or I risk missing out on my next opportunity.  This contract definitely fills that need.”

Young says he signed the deal following a lengthy bidding war that included Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile and US Cellular.  In the end, he narrowed his options to AT&T and Sprint before finally settling on AT&T.

“Yeah, Sprint was really close,” he says, “They had the unlimited texting and a ton of data.  And their coverage maps are really impressive.  But, in the end, I had to go with what felt right for me and my family.”

The deal Young ultimately signed reportedly includes 10gb of data, unlimited talk and texting, and up to four lines all for less than $160 per month.  A source close to the deal says Sprint was unable to include the fourth line, which possibly cost them the 2006 Rose Bowl MVP’s business.

“There were a number of things that swung my favor to AT&T,” Young says, “Brand recognition is high.  Everyone knows AT&T.  And they gave me a really cool Samsung Galaxy for under $50.  It’s not the latest phone, but it’s still pretty cool.  And I can upgrade in two short years.”