Jimmy Carter Kleinsasser (; born January 31, 1977) is an American former

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 ...

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 ...

who played for 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 ...

of 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 North Dakota Fighting Sioux and played for the Vikings his entire career after being selected in the

1999 NFL draft The 1999 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 17–18, 1999, at the Theater at M ...

High school career

Kleinsasser attended Carrington High School, in Carrington, North Dakota and was a

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and a standout in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, and

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

. In football, he was a two time All-Region honoree and All-State honoree, and was twice named the

Gatorade Gatorade is an American brand of sports-themed beverage and food products, built around its signature line of sports drinks. The drink is owned and manufactured by PepsiCo and is distributed in over 80 countries. The beverage was develope ...

Circle of Champions North Dakota Player of the Year. At Carrington, Kleinsasser was a starter on the 1995 Class B State Championship basketball team. In track, he has the ND Class B State T&F Meet records for

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

(62 ft, 2 in) and

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

(183 ft, 11 in).

College career

Kleinsasser attended the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (UND) is a Public university, public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It was established by the Dakota Territory, Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishm ...

and played for the North Dakota Fighting Sioux from 1995 to 1998 before being drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in 1999. North Dakota was a

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

school at the time. At North Dakota, Kleinsasser was a three-time first-team All- North Central Conference (NCC) selection and a two-time Division II

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

, also in 1998 was the only Division II football player selected as a

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All-American. In 1998, Kleinsasser had 45 receptions for 710 yards and 86 rushing yards. Kleinsasser was named as a member of the 2025 class of the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

on January 15, 2025.

Professional career

Kleinsasser was selected as a

in the second round (44th overall pick) of the

. He demonstrated remarkable durability throughout his career, playing in all 16 games up to 2010, except for missing 15 games because of an knee injury in 2004. In 2007 and 2008, Kleinsasser was named to ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' All Joe Team honoring hard workers and under-recognized players. He continued his 13-year career with the Vikings in the 2011 season. He ranked second in team history for starts made by a tight end with 119, and ranked fourth in catches by a tight end in Vikings history. His blocking skills also paved the way for seven of the top eight single-season rushing marks in Vikings history, including Adrian Peterson's then team record and NFL leading 1,760 yards in 2008. Kleinsasser retired at the end of the 2011 NFL season after 13 seasons with the Vikings.

In popular culture

In the movie ''

50 First Dates ''50 First Dates'' is a 2004 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Segal and starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, with Rob Schneider, Sean Astin, Lusia Strus, Blake Clark, and Dan Aykroyd in supporting roles. It follows the st ...

'', Kleinsasser is mentioned by Sean Astin's character briefly before Kleinsasser scores a touchdown on the TV.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kleinsasser, Jimmy 1977 births Living people American football tight ends Minnesota Vikings players North Dakota Fighting Hawks football players North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's basketball players People from Foster County, North Dakota Players of American football from North Dakota American men's basketball players