Chidi Ahanotu

Chidi Obioma Ahanotu (born October 11, 1970) is a former American football defensive end in the NFL.[1]

Chidi Ahanotu
No. 72, 90, 95
Position:Defensive end
Personal information
Born: (1970-10-11) October 11, 1970
Modesto, California
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
Tackles:436
Sacks:46.5
Fumble recoveries:7
Player stats at NFL.com

He was originally selected with the fifth pick of the sixth round of the 1993 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of California; he spent the first 8 years of his career with the Buccaneers. He then played for one year at the St. Louis Rams, Buffalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers, and Miami Dolphins before returning to the Bucs for one final year.

Early life

Ahanotu was born in Modesto, California to Nigerian father and a mother from Alaska.[2] Ahanotu grew up in Berkeley, California, the middle son of three boys. His father was on the Nigerian national team and taught him and his 2 brothers how to play soccer when they were 5 years old.[3] He also loved to cook.

College career

Ahanotu attended Berkeley High School where he lettered in football and rugby. He was accepted into Columbia University, Hampton University, UCLA, and The University of California, Berkeley (Cal). Ahanotu decided to attend Cal and try his hand at walking on to the team. After his redshirt freshman year Chidi began to play during his 2nd season. After this season Ahanotu earned a full athletic scholarship and became the starting left defensive end for the Golden Bears. Chidi 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. Ahanotu majored in Integrative Biology and intended to go to medical school to become a doctor before joining the NFL.[4]

Professional career

He was originally selected with the fifth pick of the sixth round of the 1993 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of California; he spent the first 8 years of his career with the Buccaneers. He then played for one year at the St. Louis Rams, Buffalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers, and Miami Dolphins before returning to the Bucs for one final year. He was named the Tampa Bay Buccaneers "Franchise Player" in 1999.[5] He is currently ranked 5th all-time in quarterback sacks in Buccaneers franchise history with 34.5 Sacks.[6] He recorded 46.5 total sacks in his 12-year NFL career.[7] Ahanotu was also named to the Top 100 All Time Buccaneers List coming in ranked #46th on this list.[8] Of all the Left Defensive Ends to ever play for the Buccaneers, Ahanotu is ranked the best ever for the Buccaneers according to the Top 100 All Time Buccaneers List.[8] Of all the defensive linemen to ever play for the Buccaneers, Ahanotu is ranked 6th best-ever according to the Top 100 All Time Buccaneers List, behind Lee Roy Selmon, Warren Sapp, Simeon Rice, Dave Logan and Dave Pear.[1][8]

Post-playing career

Ahanotu retired from the NFL in 2005. After retiring, he became the founder of Magellan Entertainment Inc., a full service Talent Management Firm. One the firm's biggest clients is World Champion sprinter Usain Bolt. Magellan Entertainment co-manages Bolt with its partner Gina Ford of G2 Marketing. The firm also touts as one of its clients three-time light heavyweight boxing champion Antonio Tarver. As president and founder of Magellan Entertainment Ahanotu has grown the firm's clients list to include musicians, producers, actors, models, digital media companies and professional athletes.[4]

References
  1. "Chidi Ahanotu player bio". databaseFootball.com. Archived from the original on November 21, 2010. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
  2. "Chidi Ahanotu". chidiahanotu.blogspot.com. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  3. http://nfl.com Archived November 27, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  4. agency, your sports - interactive. "Welcome to Magellan Entertainment Sports Interactive Agency". magellanentertainment.com. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  5. "Articles about Ahanotu - tribunedigital-orlandosentinel". articles.orlandosentinel.com. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  6. "Tampa Bay Buccaneers | All Time Leaders: Top Ten Career Sacks". Archived from the original on June 5, 2010. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  7. NFL.com - Official Site of the National Football League Archived January 4, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  8. Bucpower.Com Archived May 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
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