Brent Celek

Brent Steven Celek (; born January 25, 1985) is an American professional football executive and former tight end for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Cincinnati Bearcats and was selected by the Eagles in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL draft. He played his entire 11 season career with the Eagles. Celek helped the Eagles win Super Bowl LII during the 2017 season; he subsequently retired that offseason.

Early life Celek played high school football at La Salle High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was named first-team all-district as both a junior and senior. He set a school record after catching a pass for 89 yards. He also lettered in track two years in the shot put and discus.

College career Celek played college football for the Cincinnati Bearcats, the first year under head coach Rick Minter and the following three seasons under Mark Dantonio. He won the UC Claude Rost Award (Most Valuable Player) and was a second-team All-Big East Conference selection.

Professional career

2007 season

After not having been invited to the 2007 NFL Scouting Combine, Celek was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round (162nd overall) of the 2007 NFL draft. He signed a four-year contract with the team on May 30, 2007.

2008 season In 2008, Celek set franchise records for yards in a game with 131 in week 9 and receptions in a playoff game with 10 in the 2009 NFC Championship game. He caught two touchdowns in a game against the Arizona Cardinals, and his 19 catches during the 2008-09 NFL playoffs were the third most in NFL history for a tight end.

2009 season Celek became the starting tight end for the Eagles after L. J. Smith departed via free agency to the Baltimore Ravens in 2009.

After scoring a touchdown in a week 9 game at home against the Dallas Cowboys, Celek was penalized for excessive celebration after teammate Jason Avant lifted his leg in order to impersonate the mascot for Captain Morgan rum. After the incident, the NFL quickly banned what turned out to be a covert ad campaign allegedly put on by the company, whereas any NFL player that is caught striking the "Captain Morgan" pose on camera during a regular-season game would result in a donation of $10,000 to the Gridiron Greats, a non-profit which helps retired NFL players with various hardships after leaving the game. The league chose not to penalize Celek, but stated that any future incident would be punished.

Celek signed six-year contract extension on December 1, 2009, to keep him under contract as an Eagle until after the 2016 season.

On December 27, 2009, in week 16 against the Denver Broncos, Celek made four catches for 121 yards and a touchdown, his third 100-yard game of the season. His 47-yard touchdown catch was the longest of his career.

After having a breakout year with 76 catches (a team high), 971 yards and eight touchdowns, Celek was named to the 2009 USA Today All-Joe Team.

2010 season In the 2010 season, Celek caught 42 passes for 511 yards and 4 touchdowns, including a then career-long 65-yard touchdown against the New York Giants in week 15, in the Miracle at the New Meadowlands.

2011 season Celek ended the season with 811 receiving yards, as quarterback Michael Vick's favorite target. He was one of three Eagle offensive players to start all 16 games, along with right tackle Todd Herremans and rookie center Jason Kelce. During the offseason, Celek was a passenger in a DUI car accident, where no one was hurt.

2012 season Celek finished the season with 57 receptions for 684 yards and one touchdown.

2013 season Celek finished the regular season with 32 receptions for 502 yards and six touchdowns after scoring a touchdown in each of the final two weeks. In the opening-round playoff loss to the New Orleans Saints, Celek caught two passes on three targets for 16 yards.

2014 season Going into the 2014 season, his eighth in the NFL, Celek stood second in Eagles team history in three tight end categories—all behind career leader Pete Retzlaff—in receiving yards (4,050), receptions (322), and touchdowns (26).

2016 season Celek played in all 16 games with 8 starts, recording 14 receptions for 155 yards. He was mainly used as a blocking specialist.

2017 season During the 2017 regular season, Celek recorded 13 receptions for 130 yards. Celek earned his first championship ring when the Eagles defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII by a score of 41-33; although he did not have any catches in the game, Celek did make a key block that allowed running back LeGarrette Blount to score a touchdown during the second quarter.

On March 13, 2018, Celek was released by the Eagles.

Retirement On August 31, 2018, Celek announced his retirement from the NFL.

NFL career statistics Legend Bold Career high

Regular season Year Team Games Receiving GP GS Tgt Rec Yds Avg Lng TD 2007 PHI 16 4 22 16 178 11.1 29 1 2008 PHI 16 7 38 27 318 11.8 44 1 2009 PHI 16 15 112 76 971 12.8 47 8 2010 PHI 16 15 79 42 511 12.2 65 4 2011 PHI 16 16 98 62 811 13.1 73 5 2012 PHI 15 14 88 57 684 12.0 34 1 2013 PHI 16 15 51 32 502 15.7 42 6 2014 PHI 16 15 51 32 340 10.6 37 1 2015 PHI 16 13 35 27 398 14.7 60 3 2016 PHI 16 8 19 14 155 11.1 24 0 2017 PHI 16 10 24 13 130 10.0 28 1 175 132 617 398 4,998 12.6 73 31

Playoffs Year Team Games Receiving GP GS Tgt Rec Yds Avg Lng TD 2008 PHI 3 3 22 19 151 7.9 31 3 2009 PHI 1 1 5 3 59 19.7 26 0 2010 PHI 1 1 4 2 25 12.5 16 0 2013 PHI 1 1 3 2 16 8.0 24 0 2017 PHI 3 1 2 1 6 6.0 6 0 9 7 36 27 257 9.5 31 3

Post-playing career On February 7, 2020, Celek was hired as a personnel consultant in the Eagles' football operations department, alongside former teammate Darren Sproles. He is also working in real estate.

Personal life Celek is the son of Steve and Debbie Celek and the oldest of five children. Brent's younger brother, Garrett, played tight end at Michigan State under coach Mark Dantonio, who coached Brent when he played for Cincinnati. After going undrafted, Garrett signed with the San Francisco 49ers.