Byron Daniel Chamberlain (born October 17, 1971) 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

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

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 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 ...

for the

Wayne State Wildcats The Wayne State Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Wayne State College, located in Wayne, Nebraska, in intercollegiate sports at the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in th ...

. He was selected in the seventh round of the

1995 NFL draft The 1995 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 22–23, 1995 at the Paramount ...

and played professionally for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

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

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

. Chamberlain won back-to-back

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

championships as a member of the Broncos ( XXXII & XXXIII). He was voted to the

2002 Pro Bowl The 2002 Pro Bowl was the NFL's all-star game for the 2001 season. The game was played on February 9, 2002, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The final score was AFC 38, NFC 30. Rich Gannon of the Oakland Raiders was the game's MVP. A ...

while with the Vikings.

Early life

Chamberlain was born in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

. Byron grew up in

San Diego, CA San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. After his mother remarried, his family moved to Texas. He attended and graduated from

Eastern Hills High School Eastern Hills High School is a four-year state school, public secondary education in the United States, high school in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. The school is educating students in grades 9–12, as part of the Fort Worth Independent Sc ...

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

. Chamberlain was a star in football, baseball and track for the Highlanders.

College career

Chamberlain's started his college career at the University of Missouri, where he made the All-

Big Eight Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored American football, football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate ...

freshman team. Chamberlain transferred to

Wayne State College Wayne State College (WSC) is a public college in Wayne, Nebraska. It is part of the Nebraska State College System and enrolls 4,202 students. The college opened as a public normal school in 1910 after the state purchased the private Nebraska Nor ...

, a Division II College in

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

where he was a standout wide receiver from 1993 to 1994 and broke most of the receiving records. In his two seasons with the Wildcats, Chamberlain had 161 catches for 1,941 yards and 14 touchdowns and became the school's all-time leading receiver, In 1993, Chamberlain had 78 catches for 1,015 yards and seven touchdowns to help the 9-1 Wildcats lead NCAA Division II in total offense that season. He added another 83 catches for 926 yards in 1994. The 83 catches tied most in a single season by a Wildcat receiver and his 16 catches vs. Bemidji State that season ranked most in a single game by a WSC receiver. His quarterback was

Brett Salisbury Brett Jon Salisbury (born October 11, 1968) is a former college football quarterback at University of Oregon, BYU, and Wayne State College. Early life Salisbury, the younger brother of former NFL quarterback Sean Salisbury, grew up in Escondid ...

, both were roommates and eventual

Harlon Hill Trophy The Harlon Hill Trophy is an award in American college football given to the individual selected as the most valuable player in NCAA Division II. The award is named for former University of North Alabama and National Football League player Harl ...

finalists. Chamberlain and Salisbury are the only two players to ever be nominated in the school's history for the Harlon Hill Award. Wayne State teammates Chamberlain, Salisbury,

Brad Ottis Brad Allen Ottis (born August 2, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the second round of the 1994 NFL draft. He playe ...

, and

Damon Thomas (American football) Damon Thomas (December 15, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wayne State Wildcats. Early life Thoma ...

all went on to professional careers.

Professional career

Chamberlain was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the seventh round (222nd overall) of the

. He played in the NFL for nine seasons. Byron played for Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings, and the Washington Redskins in his career. He spent the 1996 World League season with the

Rhein Fire Rhein Fire may refer to either of two American football franchises: * Rhein Fire (NFL Europe) The Rhein Fire were a professional football team in the NFL Europe, formerly the World League of American Football. Established in Düsseldorf, Germany ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and led the league with 58 receptions for 685 yards (11.8) and a league leading 8 touchdowns. Byron was a key contributor as a member of the

back-to-back

wins (Super Bowl XXXII & XXXIII). He was voted to the 2002

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

while with the Minnesota Vikings. Byron finished his career with 167 catches for 2,048 yards (12.3) with 6 touchdowns.

NFL career statistics

Personal life

In August 1997, Chamberlain pleaded guilty to harassment charges against his then-wife, Robyn. He was placed on probation for two years. He also was ordered to pay a $138 fine and be evaluated for drug use. Less than a month later, he was arrested and faced domestic violence charges. In 2003, Chamberlain was cut by the Vikings following a four-game suspension for using the weight-loss drug ephedra. Subsequently, he signed by the Redskins and cut again. In the fall of 2008, Chamberlain returned to Wayne State in

Wayne, Nebraska Wayne is a city in Wayne County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 5,660 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Wayne County and the home of Wayne State College. History Wayne was founded in 1881 when the Chicago, St. Paul, M ...

to complete his degree. Friday, December 19, 2008, Chamberlain received his bachelor's degree in Communications. Chamberlain started the in 2000 to assist underserved individuals and communities. Some of the foundations programs have included sports camps for underprivileged kids, clothes and shoe drives, food drives, toy drives as well as health education. Chamberlain is married to business developer, Angelique Chamberlain.

References

External links

Pro-Football-Reference.Com: Byron Chamberlain
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chamberlain, Byron 1971 births Living people Players of American football from Hawaii American football tight ends Denver Broncos players Minnesota Vikings players Washington Redskins players National Conference Pro Bowl players Wayne State Wildcats football players Rhein Fire players American expatriate players of American football