A day after signing a five-year contract extension worth more than $20 million guaranteed, the enormity of that deal and what it means for Arian Foster and his family finally caught up with one of the NFL's best running backs.

When asked about hardships he and his family endured when he was a child during a press conference to formally announce his new, $43.5 million deal with the Houston Texans, Foster became emotional and briefly stopped the press conference as he described what was probably the lowest point of his childhood.

“The straw that broke the camel’s back,” said Foster, “was when I saw my mother . . . she pawned her wedding ring to give us . . . excuse me . . .”

Foster teared up. After a brief pause, he continued. “She pawned her wedding ring to give us some food that night,” he said. “I told myself that I wanted to do something with my life."

"That’s why I don’t complain too much. At the end of the day, we’re all people and we just want to smile. When we were growing up and it was tough, that was one thing my family always had — we smiled.”

Foster then explained why he was never publicly bothered over the past two years despite being obviously underpaid relative to his stature among NFL backs. Foster earned $525,000 last season, which is a bargain for the Texans considering Foster ran for 1,224 yards (fifth in NFL) and 10 touchdowns in 2011.

“When you start comparing yourself to another man’s mirror,” Foster said, “that’s when those negative thoughts start creeping in. My journey isn’t anybody else’s journey.”