No. 72, 90, 95 | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Position: | Defensive end | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Born: | Modesto, California, U.S. | October 11, 1970||||||
Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||
Weight: | 285 lb (129 kg) | ||||||
Career information | |||||||
High school: | Berkeley (CA) | ||||||
College: | California | ||||||
NFL Draft: | 1993 / Round: 6 / Pick: 145 | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
| |||||||
Career NFL statistics | |||||||
| |||||||
Player stats at NFL.com |
Chidi Obioma Ahanotu (born October 11, 1970) is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). [1] He played college football at California and was selected in the 1993 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, for whom he would play in nine of his twelve professional seasons.
Ahanotu was born in Modesto, California to Nigerian father and a mother from Alaska, and was the middle son of three boys. [2] His father was on the Nigeria national soccer team and taught him and his 2 brothers how to play the sport when they were 5 years old. [3] He also loved to cook.
Ahanotu grew up in Berkeley, California, and attended Berkeley High School, where he lettered in football and rugby. He was accepted into Columbia University, Hampton University, UCLA, and UC Berkeley.
Ahanotu attended UC Berkeley and walked onto the football team. After his redshirt freshman year, Ahanotu began to play during his second season, following which he earned a full athletic scholarship and became the Golden Bears' starting left defensive end. He went on to be the starter for 3 more football seasons and earned 1st team All-Pac-10 honors as the best at his position in 1992. Ahanotu majored in Integrative Biology and originally intended to go to medical school to become a doctor before joining the NFL.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Ahanotu with the 145th pick of the 1993 NFL Draft. [4] Ahanotu spent the first eight years of his career with the Buccaneers. He later played for the St. Louis Rams, Buffalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers, and Miami Dolphins for one season each before returning to the Buccaneers during the 2004 season. He recorded 46.5 total sacks in his 12-year NFL career, [5] and his 34.5 sacks as a Buccaneer rank fifth in franchise history. [6]
Ahanotu is regarded quite highly in the history of Buccaneer defenders. He was named the team's "Franchise Player" in 1999, [7] and in 2019, he was ranked 18th on a USA Today-published list of the 100 best Buccaneers players. [8]
While playing for the Bills in 2002, Ahanotu made the unusual decision to live in Toronto and commute two hours to Buffalo. He paid a driver $5,000 a month while fulfilling his desire to live outside the United States. [9]
Ahanotu retired from the NFL in 2005. After retiring, he became the founder of Magellan Entertainment Inc., a talent management firm whose clients included Usain Bolt, Lennox Lewis, Lil Wayne, and Venus and Serena Williams. [10]
Warren Carlos Sapp is an American former football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, winning the Lombardi Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, and Bill Willis Trophy as a junior. Sapp was selected by the Buccaneers in the first round of 1995 NFL Draft. He spent nine seasons with the Buccaneers and was a member of the Oakland Raiders in his last four seasons. Following his NFL career, he was an analyst on NFL Network until 2015.
Derrick Dewan Brooks is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for his entire 14-year career in the National Football League (NFL) with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brooks played college football for the Florida State Seminoles, earning consensus All-American honors twice. He was selected by the Buccaneers in the first round of the 1995 NFL Draft. An 11-time Pro Bowl selection and five-time first-team All-Pro, Brooks was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2002 en route to winning the franchise's first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XXXVII. Following his retirement, Brooks served as co-owner and president of the Tampa Bay Storm in the Arena Football League (AFL) from 2011 to 2017. He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2016.
Matthew Garrett McCoy is a former American football linebacker. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at San Diego State.
Angelo Delvonne Crowell is a former American football linebacker. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Virginia.
Keith Joseph Millard is an American former professional football player who played as a defensive tackle for nine seasons for the Minnesota Vikings, the Green Bay Packers, the Seattle Seahawks and the Philadelphia Eagles from 1985 to 1993 in the National Football League (NFL).
Gerald Keith McCoy Jr. is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners, earning consensus All-American honors. He was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the third overall pick of the 2010 NFL Draft. McCoy has been selected to the Pro Bowl six times, and was selected to one First-team All-Pro.
Marcus Edward Jones is an American former mixed martial artist fighter and former college and professional American football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football for the University of North Carolina, and was recognized as a consensus All-American. A first-round pick in the 1996 NFL Draft, he played professional football for the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After retiring from the NFL, he became a mixed martial arts fighter, and was a cast member of SpikeTV's The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights.
Stylez G. White is a former American football defensive end. He was drafted by the Houston Texans in the seventh round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Minnesota.
Robert Ayers is a former American football defensive end that played 10 years in the NFL. He played college football at Tennessee and was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He has also played for the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Stephen Gregory White was an American professional football player who was a defensive end for seven seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New York Jets in the National Football League (NFL). He was later a football blogger for SB Nation.
Jason Andrew Pierre-Paul is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football for the South Florida Bulls and was selected by the New York Giants in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. With the Giants, Pierre-Paul made two Pro Bowls, was first-team All-Pro and won Super Bowl XLVI over the New England Patriots. With the Buccaneers, Pierre-Paul made his third Pro Bowl and won Super Bowl LV.
Cody James Grimm is an American football coach and former safety who is the safeties coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an assistant coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Erik Lorig is a former American football Fullback who played six seasons in the National Football League (NFL).
Lavonte Lamar David is an American football linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Nebraska, and was selected by the Buccaneers in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Since entering the NFL, David has been named to three All-Pro teams, one Pro Bowl appearance and won Super Bowl LV during the 2020 season, in a 31–9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Steven Means is an American football outside linebacker who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football for the University at Buffalo.
Peter Elezovic is a former American football placekicker who played seven seasons in the Arena Football League with the Albany Firebirds, Chicago Rush, Buffalo Destroyers, Carolina Cobras, Tampa Bay Storm and New York Dragons. He played college football at the University of Michigan. He was also a member of the Washington Redskins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Scottish Claymores, Barcelona Dragons and Rhein Fire.
Shaquil Akeem Barrett is an American football linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Nebraska Omaha before transferring to Colorado State University, and was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2014. After five seasons with the Broncos, including winning Super Bowl 50, Barrett signed with the Buccaneers. His level of play increased, making the Pro Bowl and All-Pro teams in 2019 after leading the league in sacks, and in 2021 won Super Bowl LV.
Antoine Duane Winfield Jr. is an American football safety for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Minnesota, and was drafted by the Buccaneers in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Onome Johnson Ojo is a Nigerian former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He also played in NFL Europe. Ojo played college football at UC Davis.