Chidi Obioma Ahanotu (born October 11, 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 ...

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 formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

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 at

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and was selected in the 1993 NFL draft by 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 ...

, for whom he would play in nine of his twelve professional seasons.

Early life

Ahanotu was born in

Modesto, California Modesto ( ; ) is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,069 according to 2022 United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it is the List of cities and towns in Ca ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

n father and a mother from Tuskegee Alabama, and was the middle son of three boys. His father was on the Nigeria national soccer team and taught him and his 2 brothers how to play the sport when they were 5 years old. He also loved to cook. Ahanotu grew up in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

, and attended Berkeley High School, where he lettered in football and rugby. He was accepted into

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, Hampton University,

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, and

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

College career

Ahanotu attended UC Berkeley and walked onto the football team. After his redshirt freshman year, Ahanotu began to play during his second season, following which he earned a full athletic scholarship and became the Golden Bears' starting left defensive end. He went on to be the starter for 3 more football seasons and earned 1st team All-Pac-10 honors as the best at his position in 1992. Ahanotu majored in Integrative Biology and originally intended to go to medical school to become a doctor before joining the NFL.

Professional career

The

selected Ahanotu with the 145th pick of the 1993 NFL draft. Ahanotu spent the first eight years of his career with the Buccaneers. He later played for the St. Louis Rams,

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 ...

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

, and

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 ...

for one season each before returning to the Buccaneers during the 2004 season. He recorded 46.5 total sacks in his 12-year NFL career,NFL.com - Official Site of the National Football League
and his 34.5 sacks as a Buccaneer rank fifth in franchise history. Ahanotu is regarded quite highly in the history of Buccaneer defenders. He was named the team's "Franchise Player" in 1999, and in 2019, he was ranked 18th on a ''USA Today''-published list of the 100 best Buccaneers players. While playing for the Bills in 2002, Ahanotu made the unusual decision to live in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and commute two hours to Buffalo. He paid a driver $5,000 a month while fulfilling his desire to live outside the United States.

Post-playing career

Ahanotu retired from the NFL in 2005. After retiring, he became the founder of Magellan Entertainment Inc., a talent management firm whose clients included

Usain Bolt Usain St. Leo Bolt (; born 21 August 1986) is a Jamaican retired sprinter who is widely regarded as the greatest sprinter of all time. He is an eight-time Olympic gold medalist and the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahanotu, Chidi 1970 births Living people Players of American football from Modesto, California American players of American football of Nigerian descent American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Berkeley High School (Berkeley, California) alumni California Golden Bears football players Players of American football from Berkeley, California Tampa Bay Buccaneers players St. Louis Rams players Buffalo Bills players San Francisco 49ers players Miami Dolphins players