Background
Payne grew up in Livermore, California.
Payne grew up in Livermore, California.
He attended Livermore High School where he was a four year varsity soccer player. He graduated with a bachelor"s degree in accounting in 1982.
Payne was inducted into the Chico State Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999. In 1979, the Sacramento Gold of the American Soccer League drafted Payne and he signed with the Gold on March 29, 1979. The Oakland Stompers of the North American Soccer League drafted Payne, but he never played for their first team
Instead, in 1981, he played nine games with the Atlanta Chiefs.
The Chiefs folded at the end of the season and in 1982, Payne moved to the Georgia Generals of the Advanced Systems Limited. He finished his career with the Carolina Lightnin". After his retirement, he moved to Pleasanton, California where he founded an accounting firm.
He died of cancer on June 10, 2005.