Osi Umenyiora

Ositadimma "Osi" Umenyiora (; born November 16, 1981) is a British-Nigerian former professional American football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Troy Trojans and was selected by the New York Giants in the second round of the 2003 NFL draft. With the Giants, he won Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI. Umenyiora was a two-time Pro Bowl selection and holds the Giants franchise record for most sacks in one game. He is one of five British-born players to have won a Super Bowl, joining Marvin Allen, Scott McCready, former Troy and Giants teammate Lawrence Tynes, and Jay Ajayi. He also played for the Atlanta Falcons.

Early life Umenyiora was born in Golders Green, London to Nigerian parents. He is of Igbo descent, a native of Ogbunike town in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra state in Nigeria. His full first name means in Igbo .

Umenyiora's family moved from London to Nigeria when he was seven years old. At fourteen years old, Umenyiora moved to Auburn, Alabama to live with his sister. Umenyiora was high school friends and teammates with fellow future NFL defensive lineman DeMarcus Ware, who was two years behind him and would follow Umenyiora to Troy.

He finished his high school football career with no scholarship offers. After the season, while Umenyiora was serving an in-school suspension, his team's running back coach called his former college teammate Tracy Rocker, then the defensive line coach at Troy State, to tell him about Umenyiora. Rocker happened to be in town, stopped by the school, and offered Umenyiora a scholarship the same day.

College career Umenyiora played college football for the Troy Trojans, the only program to offer him an athletic scholarship. At Troy, Umenyiora was moved from nose guard to defensive end.

Professional career

New York Giants Despite not being invited to the 2003 NFL draft combine,

Umenyiora established himself as a premier pass rusher in 2005, his first year as a starter.

In the fourth game of the 2007 season, he set a Giants franchise record by recording six sacks against the Philadelphia Eagles. At that point in the season, the Giants had 12 sacks, tying the NFL record. He recorded his first career touchdown on October 21 against the San Francisco 49ers when he sacked Trent Dilfer, forced a fumble, recovered the fumble, and ran 75 yards for the score.

By the end of the season, Umenyiora's 13 sacks helped the Giants to an NFL regular season-leading 53 sacks. The finding by team physician Russell Warren was that Umenyiora suffered a torn lateral meniscus.

Umenyiora joined ESPN's Monday Night Football crew on October 13, 2008.

In Week 1 of the 2009 season against the Washington Redskins, Umenyiora recorded his second and final career touchdown, also on a sack, forced fumble, and recovery.

On November 5, 2010, Umenyiora was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Month after recording 18 tackles (10 solo), 7.0 sacks, and six forced fumbles in the Giants' four October wins. Umenyiora and teammate Justin Tuck recorded 11.5 sacks for the year, and combined for 16 forced fumbles.

On July 29, 2011, Umenyiora did not report on the opening day of the Giants' training camp. As a result, the Giants placed him on Reserve/Did Not Report. He reported to camp late the following day. Umenyiora has claimed that general manager Jerry Reese promised to renegotiate his contract after the 2010 season, but failed to do so.

Umenyiora began practicing with his teammates on August 15, but after three practices he had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. The team expected him to miss the season opener against the Washington Redskins on September 11.

In June 2012 Umenyiora agreed to a one-year contract with the Giants, after terminating his working relationship with agent Tony Agnone.

Retirement On August 26, 2015, Umeniyora announced his retirement. He signed a ceremonial one-day deal with the Giants to officially retire as a member of the team.

Umenyiora in the Giants NFC divisional playoff game against the Green Bay Packers on January 15, 2012.

NFL career statistics Legend Won the Super Bowl NFL record Bold Career high

Regular season Year Team Games Tackles Fumbles Interceptions GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck Sfty FF FR Yds TD Int Yds Avg TD PD 2003 NYG 13 1 20 13 7 1.0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 2004 NYG 16 7 58 40 18 7.0 0 3 4 88 1 0 0 0.0 0 3 2005 NYG 16 16 70 48 22 14.5 0 4 2 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 3 2006 NYG 11 11 31 24 7 6.0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 2 2007 NYG 16 16 52 40 12 13.0 0 5 2 75 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 2008 NYG 0 0 Did not play due to injury 2009 NYG 16 11 29 19 10 7.0 0 4 4 61 1 0 0 0.0 0 1 2010 NYG 16 16 48 33 15 11.5 0 10 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 2 2011 NYG 9 7 25 16 9 9.0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 1 2012 NYG 16 4 43 28 15 6.0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 1 2013 ATL 16 13 47 31 16 7.5 0 3 0 0 0 1 68 68.0 1 3 2014 ATL 16 0 12 9 3 2.5 0 0 1 86 1 0 0 0.0 0 1 Total 161 102 376 261 115 85 0 35 13 310 4 1 68 68.0 1 17

Media career After retiring in 2015, he joined BBC Sport as a pundit for their NFL coverage working on the NFL International Series matches from London and the Super Bowl. He has worked alongside Match of the Day 2 host Mark Chapman, Jason Bell, Nat Coombs, Mike Carlson and Dan Walker and their coverage has gained rave reviews from NFL fans in the UK. He also worked on the BBC's NFL weekly highlights shows (The NFL Show/NFL This Week) which were on every week of the season.

From 2022-2024 the highlights show moved to ITV. ITV axed the show ahead of the 2024 season.

In 2025, he joined Channel 5 as a presenter for their NFL coverage, including as a regular team captain on NFL Big Game Night.

His pundit work has been recognized with two Royal Television Society Performance Awards for Best Sports Presenter, Commentator or Pundit in 2017 and 2019 (he was also on the three person shortlist in 2018 ) and the 2018 Sports Journalists' Association British Sports Pundit of the Year award.

Personal life Umenyiora has formerly resided in Cleveland, Georgia and Edgewater, New Jersey.

In 2008, he made a cameo appearance in the music video "I Luv Your Girl" by The-Dream.

Umenyiora is cousins with Chidera Uzo-Diribe, a coach for the Georgia Bulldogs.

In February 2013, he became engaged to Miss Universe 2011, Leila Lopes. They married May 29, 2015 in Luanda, Angola, the bride's home country. They have two children together.