Domata Uluaifaasau Peko Sr (born November 27, 1984) is an American-Samoan 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 ...

nose tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

. Peko was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and grew up in

Pago Pago Pago Pago ( or ; Samoan language, Samoan: )Harris, Ann G. and Esther Tuttle (2004). ''Geology of National Parks''. Kendall Hunt. Page 604. . is the capital of American Samoa. It is in Maoputasi County, American Samoa, Maoputasi County on Tutuila ...

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

. 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 ...

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

and was drafted by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

in the fourth round of the

2006 NFL draft The 2006 NFL draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offe ...

College career

Peko started his college football at

College of the Canyons College of the Canyons (COC) is a public community college in Santa Clarita, California. It comprises the Santa Clarita Community College District. The college is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and has campus loca ...

before transferring to

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

. He wore number 96 for the Spartans who were coached by John L. Smith at the time. As a senior, he made 53 tackles. One of the most memorable moments of his career was against archrival Michigan when he returned a

Chad Henne Chad Steven Henne (; born July 2, 1985) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a quarterback for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines foo ...

fumble for a touchdown in front of a roaring crowd at Spartan Stadium. He was a sociology major.

Professional career

Peko attended the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

and completed all of the combine drills and positional drills. On March 18, 2006, he participated at Michigan State's pro day, but opted to stand on his combine numbers and only ran positional drills. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Peko was projected to be a fifth or sixth round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the 19th best defensive tackle prospect in the draft by

Scouts Inc. Scouts Inc. is a partner of ESPN Inc., that specializes in scouting and evaluating current and future players and teams in professional, college and high school sports. The content is provided on the ESPN television networks, ESPN Radio and ESPN ...

and was also ranked the 21st best defensive tackle prospect by DraftScout.com.

Cincinnati Bengals

The

selected Peko in the fourth round (123rd overall) of the

. Peko was the seventh defensive tackle drafted in 2006.

2006

On July 28, 2006, the Cincinnati Bengals signed Peko to a four-year, $2.02 million

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

that includes a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $407,000. Peko entered training camp slated as a backup defensive tackle. Head coach

Marvin Lewis Marvin Roland Lewis Jr. (born September 23, 1958) is an American professional American football, football coach. He recently served as the assistant head coach for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). Lewis was previously ...

named Peko a backup defensive tackle to start the regular season in 2006, behind

Sam Adams Samuel Adams (, 1722 – October 2, 1803) was an American statesman, political philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a politician in colonial Massachusetts, a leader of the movement that became the American Revolu ...

and John Thornton. He made his professional regular season debut in the Cincinnati Bengals' season-opener at the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

and recorded two solo tackles in their 23–10 victory. On October 29, 2006, Peko collected a season-high seven combined tackles and made his first career sack during a 29–27 loss against 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 Week 8. Peko's first career sack was on Falcons' quarterback

Michael Vick Michael Dwayne Vick (born June 26, 1980) is an American college football coach and former player who is the Head coach, head football coach at Norfolk State Spartans football, Norfolk State University. He played quarterback in the National F ...

, as he made an eight-yard sack on Vick with teammate Justin Smith in the fourth quarter. On November 30, 2006, Peko earned his first career start after John Thornton suffered a wrist injury. He finished the Bengals' 13–7 win against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

with two combined tackles. In Week 16, Peko recorded six combined tackles and made a season-high two sacks on Broncos' quarterback

Jay Cutler Jay Christopher Cutler (born April 29, 1983) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. A member of the Chicago Bears for most of his career, he is ...

in the Bengals' 24–23 loss at 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 ...

. He finished his rookie season in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

with 43 combined tackles (21 solo), 2.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles in 16 games and one start.

2007

Throughout training camp in 2007, Peko competed to be a starting defensive tackle against Michael Myers, John Thornton, Kenderick Allen, and Matt Toeaina. Head coach Marvin Lewis named Peko a starting defensive tackle to begin the

2007 NFL season The 2007 NFL season was the 88th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). Regular-season play was held from September 6 to December 30. The campaign kicked off with the defending Super Bowl XLI champion Indianapolis Colts defeati ...

. He started alongside John Thornton and defensive ends Justin Smith and Robert Geathers. Domata Peko tackles Musa Smith

In Week 8, Peko recorded three combined tackles and made his first career solo sack on Steelers' quarterback

Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. ( ; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Ste ...

during the third quarter of the Bengals' 24–13 loss to the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

. On December 15, 2007, he collected a season-high nine combined tackles and was credited with half a sack in the Bengals' 20–13 loss at the

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 ...

in Week 15. He started in all 16 games in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and recorded 52 combined tackles (36 solo), 1.5 sacks, a pass deflection, and a fumble recovery.

2008

On January 2, 2008, the Cincinnati Bengals fired defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan after the defense ranked 27th in the league for total defense in 2007. On January 15, 2008, the Cincinnati Bengals named former Atlanta Falcons' defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer as their new defensive coordinator. Zimmer retained Peko and John Thornton as the starting defensive tackles in 2008. On July 13, 2008, the Cincinnati Bengals signed Peko to a five-year, $27.70 million contract that includes $8.50 million guaranteed. On October 12, 2008, Peko collected a season-high eight combined tackles in the Bengals' 26–14 loss at the

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

in Week 6. Peko started in all 16 games in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

and recorded a career-high 67 combined tackles (29 solo), two passes defended, and was credited with half a sack.

2009

Peko returned as a starting defensive tackle in 2009 and started alongside Tank Johnson and defensive ends Robert Geathers and Antwan Odom. In Week 4, he collected a season-high five combined tackles during a 23–20 win at the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

. On November 29, 2009, Peko made one tackle before exiting in the third quarter of the Bengals' 16–7 win against the Cleveland Browns in Week 12 due to a knee injury. On December 7, 2009, it was reported Peko had undergone

arthroscopic surgery Arthroscopy (also called arthroscopic or keyhole surgery) is a minimally invasive surgery, surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage is performed using an arthroscope, an endoscope that is inserted in ...

on his knee and he was inactive for the last five games of the season (Weeks 13–17). He finished the

2009 NFL season The 2009 NFL season was the 90th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL). The 50th anniversary of the original eight charter members of the American Football League was celebrated during this season. The preseason started ...

with 23 combined tackles (12 solo) and a pass deflection in 11 games and 11 starts. The

finished first in the

AFC North The American Football Conference – Northern Division or AFC North is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division was created after the NFL realign ...

with a 10–6 record in 2009. On January 9, 2010, Peko started in his first career playoff game and recorded four combined tackles in their 24–14 loss to the

in the AFC Wild Card Round.

2010

Head coach Marvin Lewis named Peko the starting nose tackle in 2010, alongside defensive ends Antwan Odom and Robert Geathers. On November 25, 2010, Peko collected a season-high seven combined tackles and broke up a pass in the Bengals' 26–10 loss at the

in Week 12. Peko started in all 16 games in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

and recorded 42 combined tackles (24 solo), one pass deflection, and was credited with half a sack.

2011

Head coach Marvin Lewis named Peko a starting nose tackle to start the regular season in 2011. He started alongside defensive ends Michael Johnson and Robert Geathers. In Week 3, Peko collected a season-high eight combined tackles in the Bengals' 13–8 loss to the

. He started in all 16 games in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

and recorded 66 combined tackles (34 solo), 2.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. The

finished third in the AFC North with a 9–7 record and earned a wild card berth in 2011. On January 7, 2012, Peko recorded four solo tackles in the Bengals' 31–10 loss at the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

in the AFC Wild Card Round.

2012

Peko retained his job as the starting nose tackle in 2012. In Week 6, he collected a season-high six combined tackles and broke up a pass in the Bengals' 34–24 loss at the

. On December 30, 2012, Peko tied his season-high of six combined tackles during a 23–17 win against the

in Week 17. He started in all 16 games and recorded 53 combined tackles (23 solo), three pass deflections, two sacks, and a fumble recovery. The

earned a wildcard berth with a 10–6 record in 2012. The Bengals were eliminated after a 19–13 loss at the

in the AFC Wild Card Round. Peko finished the game with four combined tackles.

2013

Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer retained Peko as the starting nose tackle in 2013. Peko started alongside defensive ends Carlos Dunlap and Michael Johnson. On December 29, 2013, Peko collected a season-high eight combined tackles in the Bengals' 34–17 win against the

. He started in all 16 games and recorded 52 combined tackles (24 solo) and three sacks. The

finished atop the AFC North with an 11–5 record in 2013 and earned a playoff berth. On January 5, 2014, Peko recorded two solo tackles as the Bengals lost 27–10 to 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 ...

in the AFC Wild Card Round.

2014

On January 15, 2014, the Cincinnati Bengals promoted linebackers coach Paul Guenther to defensive coordinator after Mike Zimmer accepted the head coaching position with the

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 ...

. On March 26, 2014, the Cincinnati Bengals signed Peko to a two-year, $9 million contract extension that includes $4.40 million guaranteed. Defensive coordinator Paul Guenther retained Peko as the starting nose tackle. He started alongside Wallace Gilberry and Carlos Dunlap in 2014. In Week 5, he collected a season-high eight combined tackles in the Bengals' 43–17 loss at the

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 ...

. On November 16, 2014, he tied his season-high of eight combined tackles during a 27–10 win at the

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 ...

in Week 11. He started in all 16 games in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

and recorded 46 combined tackles (26 solo) and one sack. The

finished the season with a 10–5–1 record, but lost 10–26 in the AFC Wild Card Round at the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

2015

On October 4, 2015, Peko made two solo tackles and made a career-high two sacks on Chiefs' quarterback

Alex Smith Alexander Douglas Smith (born May 7, 1984) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He played college football for the Utah Utes, earning first-team All-American ho ...

during a 36–21 win against the

in Week 4. The following week, he collected a season-high four combined tackles in the Bengals' 27–24 win against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

in Week 5. He started all 16 games at nose tackle in 2015 and recorded 35 combined tackles (17 solo), a career-high five sacks, and a pass deflection. The Bengals finished atop the AFC North with a 12–4 record in 2015, but were eliminated from the playoffs after losing 18–16 to the

in the AFC Wild Card Round.

2016

Peko returned as the starting nose tackle, alongside defensive ends Michael Johnson and Carlos Dunlap in 2016. In Week 3, he collected a season-high five combined tackles in the Bengals' 29–17 loss to the

. Peko started in all 16 games in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

and recorded 37 combined tackles (17 solo) and three pass deflections. The

did not qualify for the playoffs in 2016 after finishing with a 6–9–1 record.

Denver Broncos

On March 11, 2017, the

signed Peko to a two-year, $7.50 million contract with $3.80 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $1 million. Head coach

Vance Joseph Vance Desmond Joseph (born September 20, 1972) is an American professional football coach and former player who is the defensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Colorad ...

named Peko the starting nose tackle to begin the regular season, alongside defensive ends Jared Crick and Derek Wolfe. On October 15, 2017, Peko collected a season-high seven combined tackles in the Broncos' 23–10 loss against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

in Week 6. On November 26, 2017, Peko made six combined tackles before exiting in the fourth quarter of the Broncos' 21–14 loss at the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

due to a sprained MCL. His injury sidelined him for the next two games (Weeks 13–14) and ended his streak of 123 consecutive starts. He started in 14 games in

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

and recorded 38 combined tackles (24 solo) and a sack. In the 2018 season, Peko appeared in and started all 16 games. He finished with a half-sack, 31 total tackles (20 solo), and two passes defended.

Baltimore Ravens

On November 12, 2019, Peko was signed by the

. He played in seven games and started in three in the 2019 season.

Arizona Cardinals

On November 23, 2020, Peko signed with the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

. He played in six games and started five in the 2020 season.

NFL career statistics

Coaching career

In 2024, Peko joined the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

, as an assistant coach under his former Cincinnati Bengals Defensive Coordinator, Mike Zimmer. As of 2025, Peko is the defensive line coach for the University of Colorado Buffaloes.

Personal life

Domata's brother, Tupe Peko, also played in 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 ...

and went to Michigan State. Domata's cousin,

Kyle Peko Kyle Peko (born July 23, 1993) is an American professional football defensive tackle. He played college football at Cerritos College and Oregon State. Peko signed with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent following the 2016 NFL draft. ...

, was his teammate on the

during the

2017 NFL season The 2017 NFL season was the 98th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL) and the 52nd of the Super Bowl era. The season began on September 7, 2017, with the Kansas City Chiefs defeating the defending Super Bowl LI champion ...

. Domata is married and has three children.

References

External links

Michigan State Spartans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peko, Domata 1984 births Living people Sportspeople from Pago Pago American sportspeople of Samoan descent Players of American football from American Samoa Players of American football from Los Angeles American football defensive tackles College of the Canyons Cougars football players Michigan State Spartans football players Cincinnati Bengals players Denver Broncos players Baltimore Ravens players Arizona Cardinals players Pacific Islander American players of American football Colorado Buffaloes football coaches