Mike Seidman

Michael Andrew Seidman (born February 11, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He was a 1998 USA Today high school football first-team All-American. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins, earning first-team All-Pac-10 honors and setting a UCLA single-season record for most receiving yards by a tight end. Seidman was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the third round of the 2003 NFL draft. His NFL career was cut short by two ACL knee injuries.

Early life Seidman was born in Westlake Village, California, to Gary and Debra Seidman, and is Jewish. His mother is Jewish and his father is Catholic (his paternal grandfather had also been Jewish), and Seidman was raised with "little religion". He has an older sister, Lisa. Seidman played high school football at Westlake High School in Westlake Village, California (1995–98). He was a 1998 USA Today high school football first-team All-American, Parade All-American, rated the No. 14 player in the nation by The Sporting News, a member of PrepStar Dream Team, rated the No. 2 tight end in the nation by PrepStar, rated nation's No. 11 player and No. 3 receiver (No. 2 tight end) by Bobby Burton/ESPN, rated the nation's No. 30 player by SuperPrep, a SuperPrep All-American, SuperPrep ranked him the nation's No. 2 tight end and the No. 5 player in the California/Arizona/Hawaii region, named a first-team All-CIF Southern Section, selected All-CIF Division IV, and named first-team L.A. Daily News All-Valley. He led the team in yards-per-catch average in his junior year in 2001, as he averaged 20.8 yards per reception. He was the team's MVP, received All-Pac-10 First-team honors, and set a UCLA record for most receiving yards in a season by a tight end (631). Seidman was selected in the third round (76th overall) of the 2003 NFL draft by the Carolina Panthers. He signed a three-year contract, and received a signing bonus of $512,575 ($ in current dollar terms), and base salaries of $225,000 (2003), $305,000 (2004), and $380,000 (2005).

He appeared in 12 games and registered five catches for 35 yards. He appeared in 16 games for the Panthers in 2004, and was starting. He was on the team roster for Super Bowl XXXVIII, but was on the injured reserve list.

In January 2005 it was announced that he had suffered a torn ACL in his right knee in September 2004, and might miss the season. He was cut from the Panthers in the offseason.

Honors

In 2018 he was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

Post-football life Seidman is now a broker with real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield in Los Angeles.