His college roommate, wide receiver Steve Suter, still teases Foxworth about his frugality and uncanny maturity.
"I'd say he's a wise spender," Suter says from the couch of his Columbia townhouse, where Foxworth has stopped for an interview. "Wise above his years. He always knew what was going on ahead of time."
Foxworth says he hasn't changed his views since expanding his wallet with NFL earnings.
"Obviously, voting Democrat costs me more money than voting Republican," he says. "Obviously, it's important for me to be successful and earn as much as I can for myself and my family and my kids' kids. But what's also important to me is my community and the people around me. It's difficult to look in the mirror having made a vote based solely on my tax bracket. I can't respect anybody who does that."
The Broncos, impressed with Foxworth's speed, made him a third-round pick in the 2005 NFL draft. In training camp, he latched onto Bailey, an eight-time Pro-Bowl selection and now one of Foxworth's closest friends in the league.
"I definitely warned him, 'I'm going to follow you around and ask you questions all the time,' " Foxworth recalls.
The three-time All-Pro could have brushed him aside, but truth be told, the kid impressed Bailey.
"First of all, he was a lot smarter than the average rookie," Bailey says. "He would get mad because I couldn't always tell him everything he wanted to know right then and there. I said, 'It'll come with experience.' "
Foxworth also bonded with fellow rookie cornerback Darrent Williams.
"We were going through the same thing at the same time," he recalls. "Whatever stresses he might have been feeling, I was feeling them, too. ... So it's kind of like having a twin brother. I think it made that first year a lot easier."
Foxworth hounded veteran wide receiver Rod Smith to bring him into players union meetings. He jokes that he came off as "the fiery young guy" because of the strong opinions he expressed to 10- and 12-year veterans. But he must have impressed them because they voted him onto the union's executive committee after just three seasons. He lists that as one of his proudest accomplishments.
In his first season, Foxworth started seven games, intercepted two passes and made the All-Rookie team as the Broncos reached the AFC championship game. But his second season proved more frustrating. Foxworth failed to earn regular starts at cornerback, and the Broncos asked him to try an unfamiliar position, safety.
