Jeff Saturday
Jeff Saturday #63
Position: Center
College: North Carolina
Height: 6′-2″
Weight: 295 lbs
Time in NFL: 13 years
Signed: January 7th 1999
Born: June of 1975
Born in: Atlanta,Ga
Jeff Saturday
Jeff Saturday is one of the stories that you love to hear about when it comes to professional athletes. Born on June 18, 1975 in Atlanta, Georgia, Saturday went from an undrafted player to an NFL Pro-Bowler. Saturday played at Shamrock High School in Georgia, and decided to play his college football for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels. He started 37 games at center for the Tar Heels, and entered the 1998 NFL Draft.
Saturday was not chosen in the 1998 NFL Draft, but was signed on April 27, 1998 by the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens decided not to hang on to him for long, and waived him on June 12, 1998. At that point, Saturday had about a 7 month break while he was trying to catch on with a new team, before the Indianapolis Colts signed him on January 7, 1999. Saturday has remained with the Colts since that day in 1999, and is still there today.
In Saturday’s first season with the Colts he was a back-up to Steve McKinney, but was able to earn two starts in 1999, with the first coming on November 21st against the Philadelphia Eagles. The 2000 season was quite a bit different though, as Saturday started all 16 games that year. From that point on, Saturday started 85 consecutive games before missing two games with an injury in 2004. To this day Saturday has been a force on the offensive line for the Colts, and has done an excellent job protecting Pro-Bowl quarterback Peyton Manning. The Colts offensive line gave up the fewest sacks of any team in the NFL from 2004-2006.
Jeff Saturday has been named to the Pro Bowl five times, which include the years of 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010. Saturday was named to the AP NFL All-Pro Team in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2009, and he also received the “Tuesday Morning Quarterback Non-QB Non-RB NFL MVP Award” from ESPN’s Gregg Easterbrook back in January of 2007. Saturday was a huge part of the Indianapolis Colts team who won the 2007 NFL Super Bowl XLI against the Chicago Bears.
Back on February 26, 2009, Saturday agreed to a three-year deal worth $13 million, with a $7.45 million signing bonus to stay with the Indianapolis Colts. Today, Saturday is a member of the Executive Committee of the NFL Players’ Association, who recently paired with the owners to create a new Collective Bargaining Agreement in 2011, to put an end to the NFL lockout. This new agreement made it so that the NFL did not have to miss any games in the 2011-2012 season from the lockout. Saturday’s rise from an undrafted free agent to a 5-time Pro Bowler is one that fans love to hear, and is incredibly impressive.
