Bert Tyrone Emanuel (born October 26, 1970) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

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). He was selected by the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

in the second round of the

1994 NFL draft The 1994 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 1994, at the Marriott Ma ...

, 45th overall and the Falcons' first pick in the draft. He also played for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

, and

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 ...

. Emanuel played

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

. He spent two seasons as a

backup In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "wikt:back ...

for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

before transferring to the

Rice Owls The Rice Owls are the sports teams representing Houston's Rice University in college sports. The name comes from the owls in Rice's crest. Rice participates in NCAA Division I athletics. A member of the American Athletic Conference, Rice sponsors ...

and starting at quarterback in his junior and

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

seasons.

"The Bert Emanuel Rule"

While playing for the

against the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

in the 1999 NFC Championship Game, Emanuel made a 13-yard reception at the Rams' 22 yard line with 47 seconds remaining in the game. The Buccaneers, trailing 11–6, called a quick timeout, and the reception would have given Tampa Bay a realistic chance to continue a potential game-winning drive. The ruling on the field initially was a complete pass. Despite the fact that Emanuel apparently controlled the ball at every point during the catch, booth replay official

Jerry Markbreit Jerry Markbreit (born March 23, 1935) is a former American football referee in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons and became one of the most recognizable referees in the game. Markbreit officiated football games for 33 seasons. ...

ordered a review of the call. Referee

Bill Carollo William F. Carollo (born November 27, 1951) is a former American football official who officiated National Football League (NFL) games from 1989 through 2008. He wore uniform number 63. Carollo officiated in two Super Bowls and eight conferenc ...

determined that the nose of the ball had touched the ground as he brought it into his body. The catch was overturned, and Tampa Bay went on to lose the game, 11–6. The ensuing controversy prompted the NFL to clarify the rule regarding what constitutes a valid pass reception. This would come to be known as "The Bert Emanuel Rule."

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Personal life

His cousins, Ben Emanuel, Derrick Johnson, and Dwight Johnson also played for the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a 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 Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

. His son, Bert Emanuel Jr., is a

for the

Central Michigan Chippewas football The Central Michigan Chippewas are a college football program in Division I FBS, representing Central Michigan University (CMU). CMU has the 24th highest overall winning percentage of programs playing in NCAA Division I. The Chippewas have pla ...

team.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emanuel, Bert 1970 births Living people American football wide receivers Rice Owls football players Atlanta Falcons players NFL controversies Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Miami Dolphins players New England Patriots players Detroit Lions players UCLA Bruins football players