An NFL center who was offered a $35million contract to play for the St Louis Rams gave it all up to start a farm near his home.

Jason Brown, 31, left football behind to grow sweet potatoes in his home county of Louisburg, North Carolina - despite being ranked one of the best players in the league.

Brown decided his Christian faith would be better served by growing food for the needy than throwing balls on a pitch - and told his stunned agent he was turning down the lucrative deal with the Rams in April 2012.

Drastic change: Jason Brown, 31, used to be a center for the St Louis Rams (left), but quit the game to buy a 1,000-acre farm in North Carolina, and give away the crops (right)

He was told the move was 'the biggest mistake of your life' - but was adamant that returning to his rural homeland and taking up agriculture was the best decision he could make, CBS reported.

Brown said God's plan was for him to start farming - even though he had no idea how - and to distribute the food that he grew.

So Brown bought a 1,000-acre farm and used YouTube tutorials - and advice from local farmers - to start cultivating cucumbers and sweet potatoes on his plot.

Giveaway: Volunteers are pictured above loading up a food bank truck with sweet potatoes to feed the needy

On the field: Brown said his football agent told him he was making a huge mistake turning down the money

'When you see them pop up out of the ground, man, it's the most beautiful thing you could ever see', he said.

After years of work restoring the land - dubbed First Fruits Farm - to arable condition, Brown has just given away his first crop - 100,000lbs of sweet potatoes.

Writing on his farm's website, Brown said: 'God revealed to me that he had something greater in store for me and that my family should move back to my home state of North Carolina and start a farm.

New life: Brown, left on the field in 2011, has said that farming is a far more fulfilling life than football

'This really caught us by surprise because we knew nothing about farming. Yet, out of obedience, we started looking for available farmland.

'This is when Tay [his wife] and I made a covenant with God and told Him that whatever place He blessed us with, we would name it FirstFruits Farm and that his people would receive the FirstFruits of whatever is produced from the land.'