Larry Darnell Fitzgerald, Jr. (born August 31, 1983) is an
American footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
wide receiverA wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
for the
Arizona CardinalsThe Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
of the
National Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
, and currently ranks fourth all-time in league history in receiving yards per game for a career (76.0 yds/game), behind
Andre JohnsonAndre Lamont Johnson is an American football wide receiver currently playing for the Houston Texans of the National Football League. Through the 2010–11 NFL season, Johnson currently ranks first all-time in NFL history in receiving yards per game for a career...
,
Torry HoltAfter injuring his knee at the Senior Bowl, Holt, at 192 pounds, ran a 4.44 second 40-yard dash and had a vertical jump of 37 inches at the 1999 NFL Combine-St. Louis Rams:...
, and
Marvin HarrisonMarvin Daniel Harrison is a former American football wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the first round of the 1996 NFL Draft. He played college football at Syracuse...
. He agreed to an eight year, $120 million contract extension on August 20, 2011. Fitzgerald was drafted third overall in the
2004 NFL DraftThe 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...
by the Cardinals. He played
college footballCollege football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at
PittsburghPittsburgh Panthers football is the intercollegiate football team of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Traditionally the most popular sport at the university, Pitt football has played at the highest level of American college football...
.
College career
Fitzgerald attended the
University of PittsburghThe University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
where he was widely considered one of the best
wide receiverA wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
s in college football. After his sophomore season, Fitzgerald was recognized as the best player in the NCAA with the 2003
Walter Camp AwardThe Walter Camp Player of the Year Award is given annually to the collegiate American football Player of the Year, as decided by a group of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I-A head coaches and sports information directors under the auspices of the Walter Camp Football Foundation;...
and the
Touchdown Club of ColumbusThe Touchdown Club of Columbus was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1956 by Sam B. Nicola at the request of State Auditor James A. Rhodes, who later became governor of the state. Nicola served as the club's president until his death in 1993. More than a decade later, his son Sam Nicola, Jr...
's
Chic Harley AwardThe Chic Harley Award is presented by the Touchdown Club of Columbus to the College Football Player of the Year. The winner is selected by a committee of college football coaches, and is named after Ohio State All-America football legend, Chic Harley. It was first presented to Ohio State's Howard...
, and as the best wide receiver in college football with the 2003 Biletnikoff Award and the Touchdown Club's Paul Warfield Award. He was also a unanimous 2003
All-AmericaAn All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
selection and a runner-up for the prestigious
Heisman TrophyThe Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
, given to the most outstanding player in college football;
OklahomaThe Oklahoma Sooners football program is a college football team that represents the University of Oklahoma . The team is currently a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
's
Jason WhiteJason White is a former American football quarterback who played for the University of Oklahoma from 1999 to 2004, during which he won the 2003 Heisman Trophy...
won that award by a relatively slim margin.
In just 26 games with the
PanthersPittsburgh Panthers football is the intercollegiate football team of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Traditionally the most popular sport at the university, Pitt football has played at the highest level of American college football...
, Fitzgerald caught 161 passes for 2,677 yards and set a new Pitt record with 34 receiving touchdowns. He was the first player in school history with back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons, and his 14 games with at least 100 yards receiving broke
Antonio BryantAntonio Bryant is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft...
's previous all-time Panthers record of 13.
Fitzgerald also holds an
NCAAThe National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
record with at least one touchdown catch in 18 straight games.
Pre-draft
Although Fitzgerald had played at Pitt for only two years without
redshirtingRedshirt is a term used in American college athletics that refers to a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen his or her period of eligibility...
, he petitioned the NFL to allow him to enter the
2004 NFL DraftThe 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...
, as he had left his high school,
Academy of Holy AngelsThe Academy of Holy Angels is a Catholic, coeducational high school located in Richfield, Minnesota. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Holy Angels educates more than 820 students each year in grades nine through twelve from around the Twin Cities...
, during his senior year to attend Valley Forge (PA) Military Academy. The NFL granted an exception to allow Fitzgerald to enter the draft, as Fitzgerald had convinced the NFL that the time he spent at the Academy, combined with his time at Pitt, was the minimum three years removed from
high schoolHigh school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
to make him eligible for the draft. Although former
Ohio StateThe Ohio State Buckeyes football team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of The Ohio State University. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference of the NCAA, playing at the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly Division I-A, level. The team nickname is derived from the state...
running back
Maurice ClarettMaurice Edward Clarett is an American football running back for the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League. During his freshman year at Ohio State University in 2002, he helped lead the Buckeyes to a national championship...
was suing the NFL at the time to overturn the rule (a case Clarett ultimately won, but was later overturned on appeal), the NFL considered Fitzgerald's case separate from Clarett's.
Arizona Cardinals
Fitzgerald left the University of Pittsburgh after a tremendous sophomore year in which he caught 92 passes for 1,672 yards and 22 TDs. He was drafted third overall in the
2004 NFL DraftThe 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...
by the
Arizona CardinalsThe Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, whose then coach,
Dennis GreenDennis "Denny" Green is an American football head coach for the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League...
, knew Fitzgerald from his time as a Vikings ball boy.
In
2004The 2004 NFL season was the 85th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 9, 2004 to January 2, 2005...
, Fitzgerald had 58 receptions for 780 yards and 8 touchdowns. On December 12, 2004, Fitzgerald became the youngest player at 21 years and 110 days, to record at least 2 touchdown receptions in a single game. In
2005The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 8, 2005 to January 1, 2006...
he led the NFL with 103 receptions for 1,409 yards and 10 touchdowns and was named to his first
Pro BowlThe 2006 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl was played on February 12, 2006 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. It marked the 27th consecutive time that the National Football League's all-star game was held in Honolulu...
. Fitzgerald teamed with
Anquan Boldin-Arizona Cardinals:As a rookie Boldin set an NFL record for most receiving yards by a rookie in his first game , tied Billy Sims for most yards from scrimmage by a rookie in his first game , and holds the NFL record for most receptions in the first 26 games of an NFL career...
to create one of the most dangerous wide receiver
tandemTandem is an arrangement where a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction....
s in the NFL. In 2005, they became only the third duo from the same team to each catch over 100 passes and also the third pair of teammates to top the 1,400-yard mark.
In
2006The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League.Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006...
, Fitzgerald was injured and missed part of the season but still produced 69 receptions for 946 yards and 6 touchdowns. As part of his
2007 Pro BowlThe 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....
seasonThe 2007 NFL season was the 88th regular season of the National Football League.Regular-season play was held from September 6 to December 30....
, he caught 100 receptions for 1,409 yards and 10 touchdowns. Following the
2007 seasonThe 2007 Arizona Cardinals season was the 88th season for the team in the National Football League, and their 20th season in Arizona. They improved upon their 5–11 record in 2006 after finishing last place in the NFC West, by finishing 8–8, but the failure of the Cardinals to qualify for the Super...
Fitzgerald signed a four-year, $40 million contract extension with Arizona. While still under contract at the time, performance bonuses forced the team's hand into a massive extension. Fitzgerald's numbers earned him the nickname "Sticky Fingers" and "The Best Hands in the NFL" in local media.
During the NFC Championship for the
2008 NFL seasonThe 2008 NFL season was the 89th regular season of the National Football League, themed with the slogan "Believe in Now."Super Bowl XLIII, the league's championship game, was at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on February 1, 2009, with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming out victorious over the...
, Fitzgerald tied an NFL record with three touchdown receptions in a playoff game. His three touchdown catches occurred in the first half; he became the first player in NFL history to accomplish that feat in a conference championship game. Fitzgerald also set a single postseason record with 546 receiving yards, 30 receptions, and 7 touchdown receptions, surpassing
Jerry RiceJerry Lee Rice is a retired American football wide receiver. He is generally regarded as the greatest wide receiver of all time and one of the greatest players in National Football League history...
's records of the 1988–89 NFL playoffs. He and the Cardinals represented the
NFCThe National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...
in
Super Bowl XLIIISuper Bowl XLIII was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League champion for the 2008 season. The game was played on February 1, 2009,...
. During Super Bowl XLIII, Fitzgerald caught two touchdown passes in the Cardinals 27–23 loss to the
SteelersSteelers usually refers to the Pittsburgh Steelers, an American football team which plays in the National Football League. It may also refer to the following sports teams:Association football...
. Fitzgerald followed up this performance by catching two more touchdown passes in the
2009 Pro BowlThe 2009 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl was the NFL's all-star game for the 2008 season. It was played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii on February 8, 2009. This was the last time that a Pro Bowl game was held after the NFL Super Bowl game...
, earning him MVP honors. After the Pro Bowl was over it was revealed that Fitzgerald had been playing at least the whole postseason with a broken left thumb as well as torn cartilage in the same hand. It is speculated that Fitzgerald has had this injury since November 5, 2008, when he showed up on the injury report with an injured thumb. After his record-breaking postseason, capped by his Pro Bowl MVP award, many analysts, including
NFL NetworkNFL Network is an American television specialty channel owned and operated by the National Football League . It was launched November 4, 2003, only eight months after the league's 32 team owners voted unanimously to approve its formation...
's
Jamie DukesJamie Donnell Dukes is a former offensive lineman who played 10 seasons for the Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, and Arizona Cardinals, of the National Football League. He played college football at Florida State...
, regarded Fitzgerald as one of the best receivers in the NFL.
Despite having about 300 yards less than the year before, he set a personal record with 13 touchdowns in
2009The 2009 NFL season was the 90th regular season of the National Football League.The preseason started with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on August 9, 2009, and the regular season began September 10. The season ended with Super Bowl XLIV, the league's championship game, on February 7, 2010 at...
. He added two more touchdown catches in the Wild Card game against the
Green Bay PackersThe 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...
in a 51–45 win. However, the Cardinals were eliminated the next week, beaten 45–14 by the
New Orleans SaintsThe New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
.
The 2010 season for the Cardinals was a major let down from the previous two years, as the retiring of Kurt Warner greatly affected their offense. Despite this, Fitzgerald was still able to catch 90 passes for 1,137 yards, and 6 touchdowns. After the season he was named to his 5th pro bowl, and his 4th in a row.
Larry Fitzgerald signed an 8-year $120 million deal with the
Arizona CardinalsThe Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
on August 20th, 2011 that makes him tied with
Richard SeymourRichard Vershaun Seymour is an American football defensive tackle for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New England Patriots sixth overall in the 2001 NFL Draft...
as the 5th highest paid player in the NFL.
Statistics
| Year | Team | G | GS | Rec | Yards | Avg | Lng | TD |
| 2004 The 2004 NFL season was the 85th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 9, 2004 to January 2, 2005...
|
ARI The 2004 Arizona Cardinals season was the 85th season the team was in the National Football League. The team managed to improve upon their previous output of 4-12. However, the team failed to make the playoffs for the sixth straight season.-NFL Draft:...
|
16 |
16 |
58 |
780 |
13.4 |
48 |
8 |
2005The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 8, 2005 to January 1, 2006...
|
ARI The 2005 Arizona Cardinals season was the team's 86th in the NFL. The team was unable to improve upon their previous season's output of 6-10, and failed to make the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season....
|
16 |
16 |
|
1,409 |
13.7 |
47 |
10 |
| 2006 The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League.Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006...
|
ARI The 2006 Arizona Cardinals season began with the team trying to improve on their 5-11 record in 2005. They also moved into the Cardinals Stadium in Glendale, Arizona . The stadium was christened University of Phoenix Stadium on September 26...
|
13 |
13 |
69 |
946 |
13.7 |
57 |
6 |
| 2007 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....
|
ARIThe 2007 Arizona Cardinals season was the 88th season for the team in the National Football League, and their 20th season in Arizona. They improved upon their 5–11 record in 2006 after finishing last place in the NFC West, by finishing 8–8, but the failure of the Cardinals to qualify for the Super...
|
15 |
15 |
100 |
1,409 |
14.1 |
48T |
10 |
2008The 2008 NFL season was the 89th regular season of the National Football League, themed with the slogan "Believe in Now."Super Bowl XLIII, the league's championship game, was at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on February 1, 2009, with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming out victorious over the...
|
ARIThe 2008 Arizona Cardinals season was the 89th season for the team in the National Football League and their 21st season in Arizona. The season marked the Cardinals' first-ever Super Bowl appearance, coming as a result of their victory against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship.The...
|
16 |
16 |
96 |
|
|
|
12 |
| 2009 The 2009 NFL season was the 90th regular season of the National Football League.The preseason started with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on August 9, 2009, and the regular season began September 10. The season ended with Super Bowl XLIV, the league's championship game, on February 7, 2010 at...
|
ARIThe 2009 Arizona Cardinals season is the 90th season for the team in the National Football League and the 22nd season in Arizona. The Cardinals finished the season with a 10–6 record, an improvement from their 9–7 previous season record and the first time the team has won ten games since 1976 The...
|
16 |
16 |
97 |
1,092 |
11.3 |
34T |
|
| 2010 The 2010 NFL season was the 91st regular season of the National Football League.The regular season began with the NFL Kickoff game on NBC on Thursday, September 9, at the Louisiana Superdome as the New Orleans Saints, Super Bowl XLIV champions, defeated the Minnesota Vikings 14–9.Tom Brady,...
|
ARI The 2010 Arizona Cardinals season is the 91st season for the team in the National Football League, and their 23rd season in Arizona. The Cardinals failed to improve on their 10–6 record from 2009, and were eliminated from postseason contention in Week 15....
|
16 |
15 |
90 |
1,137 |
12.6 |
41T |
6 |
| Tot. |
ARI |
108 |
107 |
613 |
8,204 |
13.3 |
78T |
65 |
Personal
Fitzgerald's father, Larry Fitzgerald Sr., is a sportswriter for the
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. When he covered Super Bowl XLIII, he was believed to be the first reporter to cover his own son in a Super Bowl.
Fitzgerald's mother, Carol, died of a brain hemorrhage while being treated for
breast cancerBreast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
in 2003.
Fitzgerald also has a younger brother, Marcus R. Fitzgerald. Marcus is an
American footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
wide receiverA wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
for the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League.
In January 2010, Fitzgerald appeared in a television commercial saying that he was completing his college degree at the
University of PhoenixThe University of Phoenix is a for-profit institution of higher learning. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Apollo Group Inc. which is publicly traded , an S&P 500 corporation based in Phoenix, Arizona...
while also playing football many weekends at the Arizona Cardinals'
University of Phoenix StadiumUniversity of Phoenix Stadium, opened August 1, 2006, is a multipurpose football stadium located in Glendale, Arizona. It is the home of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League and the annual Fiesta Bowl...
.
In December 2008, Angela Nazario, a former
Oakland RaidersThe Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
cheerleader and the mother of Fitzgerald's child, filed for and won an order of protection against Fitzgerald, alleging that he had shoved her during a domestic disturbance. No charges were filed. Fitzgerald's father claimed that Nazario made the accusations in an attempt "to get a lot of money," and his lawyers have said that they cannot discuss the case because a judge had it sealed.
In the media
Fitzgerald was featured on the cover of the
EA SportsEA Sports is a brand of Electronic Arts that creates and develops sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to mimic real-life sports networks by calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as John...
video game
NCAAF 2005. He was also one of two players (with
Troy PolamaluTroy Aumua Polamalu is an American football strong safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was drafted in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft by the Steelers. He played college football at the University of Southern California.-High school:Troy Polamalu graduated...
) who are on the cover of Madden 2010. This makes him one of two people (along with
Shaun AlexanderShaun Edward Alexander is a former American football running back who played for the Seattle Seahawks and the Washington Redskins. He was drafted by the Seahawks 19th overall in the 2000 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Alabama.- Early career :Alexander was born and...
) in the history of the EA Sports American Football games to appear on two different covers.
External links