Christopher Howard Long (born March 28, 1985) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is p ...

who played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL) for 11 seasons. The son of Hall of Fame defensive end

Howie Long Howard Matthew Moses Long (born January 6, 1960) is an American sports analyst and former professional football player. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons as a defensive end, spending his entire career with the Raid ...

and older brother of NFL guard Kyle Long, he played college football at

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

and received unanimous All-American honors. Long was selected by the St. Louis Rams second overall in the

2008 NFL Draft The 2008 NFL Draft was the 73rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 26 and April 27 ...

, where he spent eight seasons. He later played one season for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

and two for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

, winning a Super Bowl title with each. Long is one of six players to win consecutive Super Bowls for different teams, having won

Super Bowl LI Super Bowl LI was an American football game played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, on February 5, 2017, to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2016 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Ne ...

with the Patriots and

Super Bowl LII Super Bowl LII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2017 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles defeated the American Football Confere ...

with the Eagles. He also received the

Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award is presented annually by the National Football League (NFL) honoring a player's commitment to philanthropy and community impact, as well as his excellence on the field. Prior to 1999, it was called s ...

in 2018 for his charitable work, which included donating his entire 2017 salary to charity.

Early years

Chris Long was born in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

and is a son of Hall of Fame NFL defensive end

. He has two younger brothers, NFL guard Kyle Long and Howie Long Jr., a scouting assistant and personnel assistant for the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...

. He is a great-nephew of film director

Irvin Kershner Irvin Kershner (born Isadore Kershner; April 29, 1923November 27, 2010) was an American film director, actor, and producer of film and television. He gained notice early in his career as a filmmaker for directing quirky, independent drama films ...

. He appeared in a 1980s anti-underage drinking public service announcement as an infant with his parents. Chris Long is the godson of the Hall of Fame Quarterback Terry Bradshaw. Long attended St. Anne's-Belfield School in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen ...

. As a senior in 2003, he was in on 91 tackles, 23 tackles for a loss, and 15 sacks, helping his team to an undefeated record and the state UIL school championship. "He was a big gangly kid who had yet to grow into his body," said John Blake, the St. Anne's-Belfield coach. "But he jumped in with both feet. When he played tackle, he would drive kids 10 or 15 yards down the field, like he was steering a car." He was given a 4-star ranking for

college recruiting A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a University system, constituent part of one. A college may be a academic degree, degree-awarding Tertiary education, tertiary educational institution, a part of a coll ...

from Rivals.com, a service that rated him the sixth-best defensive end in the prep ranks. He played in the 2004 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Long also played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensi ...

, and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

in high school.

College career

Long played college football at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with College admission ...

under head coach Al Groh from 2004 to 2007, while pursuing a degree in

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation and ...

. As a freshman in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, he was a backup on the

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

, but missed five games due to

mononucleosis Infectious mononucleosis (IM, mono), also known as glandular fever, is an infection usually caused by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Most people are infected by the virus as children, when the disease produces few or no symptoms. In young adult ...

. Long ended the season with five tackles (two for a loss) and a sack. As a sophomore in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

, Long averaged 3.8 tackles per game, leading all Virginia defensive linemen. He totaled 46 tackles, with 10 tackles for a loss and 2 sacks. His 26 quarterback pressures led his team. He also shared the team lead in pass break-ups with seven. In 2006, Long earned second-team All- ACC honors and was voted team

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. While starting all games, Long recorded 57 tackles, 12 for a loss, and 4 sacks. His 4.8 tackles per game was fourth among ACC defensive lineman. He was also a finalist for the Dudley Award, for the most outstanding player in the Commonwealth of

and was an All-State selection. Following his senior season in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

, Long was recognized as a unanimous First-team All-American. Long was fourth nationally in tackling by a defensive lineman, averaging 5.3 tackles per game. In addition,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other Coach (sport), coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manage ...

Butch Davis Paul Hilton "Butch" Davis Jr. (born November 17, 1951) is an American football coach. He was most recently the head football coach at Florida International University. After graduating from the University of Arkansas, he became an assistant c ...

, who coached against Long in North Carolina's ACC match-ups with Virginia, called Long one of the premier defensive linemen in the country. Long entered the 2007 season on the watch lists for the

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football interior lineman in the United States as adjudged by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named an All- ...

Bronko Nagurski Trophy The Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been awarded annually since 1993 to the collegiate American football defensive player adjudged by the membership of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) to be the best in the Nat