Hakeem Butler (born May 16, 1996) is an American 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 ...

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 ...

for the St. Louis Battlehawks of the United Football League (UFL). 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 ...

at Iowa State, and was drafted by 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 ...

in the fourth round of the

2019 NFL draft The 2019 NFL draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville. The first round was held ...

. He has also been a member of the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

Edmonton Elks The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division (CFL), West Division and plays their home games at Commonw ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

Early life

Butler was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

, on May 16, 1996. His mother, Sherryl, died from breast cancer when Butler was 16. He has 1 sister and a younger brother. He then moved to

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, to live with his aunt and uncle, and his cousins

Aaron According to the Old Testament of the Bible, Aaron ( or ) was an Israelite prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Information about Aaron comes exclusively from religious texts, such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament ...

and Andrew Harrison, former Kentucky basketball stars. Butler attended Travis High School in Fort Bend, Texas. He committed to

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...

to play

, choosing it over schools such as

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

and

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

College career

After redshirting his first year at Iowa State in 2015, Butler played in 11 games in 2016 and had nine receptions for 134 yards and two

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. As a sophomore in 2017, he had 41 receptions for 697 yards and seven touchdowns. As a junior in 2018, he had 60 receptions for 1,318 yards and nine touchdowns, breaking a school record for single season receiving yards. After the season, Butler decided to forgo his senior year and enter the

Statistics

Professional career

Arizona Cardinals

Butler was drafted by the

in the fourth round (103rd overall) in the 2019 NFL Draft. He was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on August 25, 2019, after suffering a broken hand, causing him to miss his entire rookie season. On September 4, 2020, Butler was waived by the Cardinals.

Carolina Panthers

On September 18, 2020, Butler was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

of the

Philadelphia Eagles

On September 29, 2020, Butler was signed to the

active roster off the Panthers practice squad and converted to

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 ...

. He was waived on October 31, 2020, and re-signed to the practice squad two days later. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Eagles on January 4, 2021. He was waived on August 23, 2021.

BC Lions

On February 22, 2022, Butler signed with the

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He was released in early round of cuts at

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

on May 23, 2022.

Edmonton Elks

Butler was signed by the

of the CFL on July 5, 2022, and placed on the team's practice roster. He was released on August 16, 2022.

St. Louis Battlehawks (first stint)

On January 1, 2023, Butler was selected by the St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL in the fifth round of the 2023 XFL Supplemental Draft. At the completion of the season for the BattleHawks, Butler made 51 receptions for 599 yards and eight touchdowns. He was released from his contract on May 15, 2023.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On May 16, 2023, Butler signed with the

. He was waived/injured on August 21, and then reverted to injured reserve. Butler was released on August 25.

St. Louis Battlehawks (second stint)

On December 4, 2023, Butler re-signed with the Battlehawks. He was named to the 2024 All-UFL team on June 5, 2024. On June 7, 2024 he was named the UFL Offensive Player of the Year. Butler finished the season with 652 receiving yards, 45 receptions, and 5 Touchdowns.

Cincinnati Bengals

On July 26, 2024, Butler signed with the

. On August 23, 2024, Butler was released.

St. Louis Battlehawks (third stint)

On January 2, 2025, Butler re-signed with the Battlehawks.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

CFL career statistics

Regular season

XFL/UFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

References

External links

Iowa State Cyclones bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Hakeem 1996 births Living people Players of American football from Baltimore American football wide receivers Iowa State Cyclones football players Arizona Cardinals players Carolina Panthers players Philadelphia Eagles players BC Lions players Edmonton Elks players St. Louis Battlehawks players Pittsburgh Steelers players Canadian football wide receivers Players of Canadian football from Baltimore Cincinnati Bengals players