Kansas City Chiefs

Allen was drafted by the Chiefs in the fourth round (126th overall) of the 2004 NFL Draft

2004 NFL Draft

The 2004 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24-25, 2004 at the theater at Madison Square Garden...

, and signed for a one-year, $100,000 contract. On May 21, 2007, Allen, as a restricted free agent, signed the Chiefs' one-year tender offer of $2.35 million for the 2007 season. Allen credited his early 2007 season success to his mullet

Mullet (haircut)

The mullet is a hairstyle that is short at the front and sides, and long in the back. . The mullet began to appear in popular media in the 1960s and 1970s but did not become generally well-known until the early 1980s...

. With every quarterback sack Allen made, he was expected to shave a "racing stripe" into his hairstyle. On December 2, 2007, Allen caught a touchdown pass against divisional rival San Diego. On December 23, 2007, Allen caught another touchdown pass against the Detroit Lions.

Allen was elected as starting defensive end for the American Football Conference

American Football Conference

The American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....

 in the 2007 Pro Bowl

2007 Pro Bowl

The 2007 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl took place on February 10, 2007, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The game was held on a Saturday instead of the usual Sunday after the Super Bowl because of a request by broadcaster CBS....

. He led the NFL in sacks (15.5) for 2007

2007 NFL season

The 2007 NFL season was the 88th regular season of the National Football League.Regular-season play was held from September 6 to December 30....

. Allen was also the selected All-Pro

2007 All-Pro Team

The 2007 All-Pro Team is composed of the National Football League players that were named to the Associated Press, Pro Football Writers Association and Sporting News All-Pro Teams in 2007. Both first and second teams are listed for the Associated Press....

 team for 2007.

In February 2008, the Chiefs placed the franchise tag

Franchise Tag

In the National Football League, the franchise tag is a designation a team may apply to a player scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. The tag binds the player to the team for one year if certain conditions are met. Each team has access each year to only one franchise tag and one...

 on Allen, giving him a one-year, $8.8 million salary for 2008.

Minnesota Vikings

On April 22, 2008, the Chiefs traded Allen to the Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...

. In exchange, the Vikings sent the Chiefs a first-round pick, which they used to select OT Branden Albert

Branden Albert

Branden B. Albert III is an American football offensive tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Chiefs 15th overall in the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Virginia.-Early years:Albert grew up in a single-parent home in Rochester, New...

, and two third-round picks, one of which was used to take Jamaal Charles, and swapped sixth-round picks in the 2008 NFL Draft

2008 NFL Draft

The 2008 NFL Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 26 and April 27, 2008. For the 29th consecutive year, ESPN televised the draft; the NFL Network also broadcast the event, its third year doing so...

. The Vikings then signed Allen to a six-year contract, which at the time was the richest contract for a defensive player in NFL history.
Allen was due an $8 million roster bonus in 2010, per the six-year, US$72.36 million contract he signed with the Vikings, and his signing bonus was $15.5 million.

During the 2008 season, Allen recorded 54 tackles, along with 14.5 sacks and 3 forced fumbles, while battling both knee and shoulder injuries throughout the season. He was named First-team All-Pro

2008 All-Pro Team

The 2008 All-Pro Team is composed of the National Football League players that were named to the Associated Press , Pro Football Writers Association , and Sporting News All-Pro Teams in 2008. These are the current teams that historically appear in Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the NFL...

 and selected to his second Pro Bowl. His first sack as a Viking was in a game against the Indianapolis Colts

Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....

, when he sacked quarterback Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning

Peyton Williams Manning is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League . Manning holds the record for most NFL MVP awards with four. He was drafted by the Colts as the first overall pick in 1998 after a standout college football career with the...

. In his first playoff game as a Viking, Allen recorded three tackles, along with two sacks and a forced fumble. Allen also forced a safety when he chased Dan Orlovsky

Dan Orlovsky

Daniel John Orlovsky is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. The Detroit Lions drafted Orlovsky in the fifth round of the 2005 NFL Draft...

 out of the end zone during a game against the Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...

, and he forced another safety in the week 10 game against the Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...

, when he sacked Aaron Rodgers

Aaron Rodgers

Aaron Charles Rodgers is an American football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . Rodgers was selected in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Packers...

 in the end zone.

On October 5, 2009, against the Green Bay Packers, Allen set a career high with 4.5 sacks, as well as having his third safety in the previous two years. A week later, against the St. Louis Rams

St. Louis Rams

The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...

, he returned a fumble 52 yards, for the first defensive touchdown of his career. He also made the 2009 Pro Bowl, as the starting defensive end for the NFC team.

Allen started the 2010 season slow, having only one sack in the first 7 games, but had 10 sacks in the next 9 games, making him 10th in the league with 11 sacks. In the season finale against Detroit, Allen scored his second career defensive touchdown, a 36 yard interception return.

Legal troubles

Allen has been arrested/charged for DUI

Driving under the influence

Driving under the influence is the act of driving a motor vehicle with blood levels of alcohol in excess of a legal limit...

 a total of three times. The first was in Pocatello, Idaho

Pocatello, Idaho

Pocatello is the county seat and largest city of Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the principal city of the Pocatello metropolitan area, which encompasses all of Bannock...

, on May 11, 2002. He was then arrested twice within five months in Leawood, Kansas

Leawood, Kansas

Leawood is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States. The city is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri and is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 31,867.-History:...

, on May 11, 2006, and on September 26, 2006. He was sentenced to 48 hours in jail as a result of the latter arrest.

In March 2007, Allen voiced his displeasure with the Chiefs' refusal to give him a long-term contract extension. No offers were made for Allen throughout free-agency due to the Chiefs' high tender for his trade (two first-round draft picks). On April 27, 2007, Allen was suspended for the first four games of the 2007 Chiefs' season

2007 Kansas City Chiefs season

The 2007 Kansas City Chiefs season began with the team looking to improve on their 9-7 record in 2006 and attempting to secure the franchise's first back-to-back playoff berth since 1995. The season ended with a nine game losing streak, the team's first since 1987 and a 4-12 record...

, and he returned to the Chiefs saying he "will do everything [he] can to help bring a championship back to the great fans of KC." On May 22, Allen signed a one-year contract worth $2.35 million, but was liable to forfeit $552,941 of his contract because of a four-game suspension for driving under the influence. On July 16, Allen's suspension was reduced to two games following an appeal, and thus he forfeited $287,500 of his 2007 salary.

Career statistics

Source: NFL.com

		Defense
Season	Team	GP	GS	TOT	SOLO	AST	PD	SACK	FF	FR	INT
2004	KC	15	10	31	29	2	0	9.0	0	0	0
2005	KC	16	15	55	48	7	5	11.0	7	2	0
2006	KC	16	16	77	65	12	10	7.5	3	6	1
2007	KC	14	14	64	55	9	10	15.5	3	0	0
2008	MIN	16	16	54	41	13	3	14.5	3	0	0
2009	MIN	16	16	51	42	8	4	14.5	5	3	1
2010	MIN	16	16	60	45	15	6	11.0	1	1	2
2011	MIN	8	8	29	21	8	3	13.5	2	2	1
	Total	116	110	420	346	74	42	96.5	24	14	5

Personal life

Allen serves as an advocate for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

JDRF is the leading global organization focused on type 1 diabetes research. Driven by volunteers connected to children, adolescents, and adults with this disease, JDRF is the largest charitable supporter of T1D research...

, and raises funds through his "Sack Diabetes" program. Allen was also an active role model in the JDRF's Children's Congress 2009. He is an avid hunter, and has interviewed with Field & Stream

Field & Stream

Field & Stream is a magazine featuring hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities in the United States. Together with Sports Afield and Outdoor Life, it is considered one of the Big Three of American outdoor publishing....

. He was among four NFL players that were sent overseas on a NFL-USO tour to visit with U.S. military troops: "It has been one of the best experiences of my life – something that I'll never forget. We as players probably get more out of it than you do as Soldiers and Marines

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

."

He created his own charity, the Jared Allen's Homes 4 Wounded Warriors, in October 2009, in order to build handicapped-accessible homes for severely wounded military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. His grandfather and younger brother also served in the Marines.

He currently resides in Chanhassen, MN.

In September 2010, Allen contributed $3,000 to Downey, California

Downey, California

Downey is a city located in southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The city is best known as the birthplace of the Apollo space program, and is the city where folk singer Karen Carpenter lived and died...

 animal shelter SEACCA's reward fund for information leading to an arrest, in connection to a horse being starved and abandoned on a Los Angeles city street.

He was also featured in the 2010 film Jackass 3D

Jackass 3D

Jackass 3D is a 2010 American 3D comedy film and the fourth film in the Jackass series. It was released on October 15, 2010 by Paramount Pictures and MTV Films to American theaters and marked the 10th anniversary of the franchise, which started in 2000...

, doing a stunt which features him blindsiding Johnny Knoxville

Johnny Knoxville

Philip John Clapp , better known by his stage name Johnny Knoxville, is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, stunt performer, best known for being the co-creator and principal star of the MTV reality series Jackass, with the catchphrase "I'm Johnny Knoxville, and welcome to Jackass."-Early...

.

On September 13, 2010 Jared Allen officially launched a free iPhone application. Allen worked with RockLive

RockLive

RockLive is a mobile entertainment company that develops apps and social games for the iPhone and iOS devices.Originally founded under the name "Rock Software" by brothers John and Sam Shahidi, the company's first app was RunPee, a database of the best times to go to the bathroom during specific...

 to create the mobile application. The iPhone app is a more personal version of Twitter that only covers the athlete

On October 29, 2011 Jared Allen and his wife Amy welcomed a new baby girl to their family.

External links

• Jared Allen at NFL.com
• Minnesota Vikings Bio
• Official website