Benito Concepcion "Benny" Ricardo (born January 4, 1954) is a former

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

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL)Miller, Bryce.
Life of former Aztec, Charger Benny Ricardo is a kick
, The San Diego Union-Tribune, November 18, 2016. (

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

) for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

, and the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

. He is distinguished as being the first

Paraguayan Paraguayans () are the citizens of Paraguay. Though the majority of Paraguayans reside in Paraguay, significant communities have been established in multiple countries, most noticeably Argentina, Spain, United States, Brazil. History The first ...

to play in the NFL. As a Minnesota Viking, Ricardo led the NFC in scoring in 1983 with 108 points. He is currently on the Spanish broadcast team for BYB Extreme Bare Knuckle Fighting Series alongside Claudia Trejos.

Personal life

Ricardo is a sometimes-actor who also has appeared in the motion pictures

North Dallas Forty ''North Dallas Forty'' is a 1979 American sports film starring Nick Nolte, Mac Davis, and G. D. Spradlin set in the decadent world of American professional football in the late 1970s. It was directed by Ted Kotcheff and based on the best-selli ...

and

Wildcats The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while th ...

. Ricardo is also a stand-up comedian and NFL and boxing commentator, and the only bilingual announcer to have announced network events as both the lead announcer and color commentator in both Spanish and English. Ricardo has announced every major sporting event in the world while working for networks like ESPN, Fox Sports, CBS Sports, MSG Networks, Westwood One, Integrated Media, Fightnow TV, Televisa, NBC, MultiVision Media, Top Rank, CSI Sports, Primetime, M1-Global, Affliction. As of 2014, Ricardo is a color commentator on CBS NFL broadcasts and also calls fights for CBS Sports Network and ESPN. Ricardo is married to former Playboy Playmate

Monique Noel Monique Noel (born April 28, 1967) is a glamour model and actress. She was chosen as '' Playboy's'' Playmate of the Month for May 1989. Her centerfold was photographed by Richard Fegley. She was born in Salem Oregon. Partial filmography * '' ...

. He is known to associate with Steve Watson.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ricardo, Benny 1954 births Living people Sportspeople from Asunción Paraguayan players of American football American football placekickers San Diego State Aztecs football players Buffalo Bills players Detroit Lions players New Orleans Saints players Minnesota Vikings players San Diego Chargers players Southern California Sun players Sportspeople from Costa Mesa, California