Mathieu Betts (born March 22, 1995) is a Canadian 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 lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

for the

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 ...

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). Betts is the only player in

U Sports football U Sports football is the highest level of amateur play of Canadian football and operates under the auspices of U Sports, Canada's governing body for university sports. Twenty-seven teams from Canadian universities are divided into four athleti ...

history to have won four major individual awards, after he won the 2015

Peter Gorman Trophy The Peter Gorman Trophy is awarded to the Rookie of the Year in U Sports Football. The Trophy acknowledges the great contribution Peter Gorman has made to the development of Canadian University Football. As founder of the Canadian College Bowl, his ...

as the most outstanding rookie and three J. P. Metras Trophies between 2016 and 2018, as the most outstanding down lineman. He is also a two-time

Vanier Cup The Vanier Cup () is the trophy awarded annually to the champion Canadian football team in U Sports, the governing body for university sports in Canada. The U Sports football champion is determined in a one-game playoff (the Vanier Cup game), pl ...

champion, having won 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

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

University career

Betts began his

career with the

Laval Rouge et Or The Laval Rouge et Or (; , ''Red and Gold'') are the athletic teams that represent Université Laval, located in Quebec City, Quebec. Home games are all held in the PEPS indoor and outdoor sports facilities. Varsity teams Laval Rouge et Or team ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

where he recorded a nation-leading 12 sacks in eight regular season games played en route to being named the Most Outstanding Rookie. In

, he had nine sacks in eight regular season games, second-best in the country, and was named the Most Outstanding Down Lineman at season's end. He also won his first

championship as part of Laval's

52nd Vanier Cup The 2016 Vanier Cup (branded as the ArcelorMittal Dofasco Vanier Cup for sponsorship reasons), the 52nd edition of the Canadian university football championship, took place on Saturday, November 26, 2016 at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario ...

win. He won his second consecutive J. P. Metras Trophy 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 won for the third time in

, becoming the first player to ever win the award three times. He finished his fourth year of eligibility in 2018 with another Vanier Cup championship in the 54th Vanier Cup game.

Professional career

In the 2019 CFL Scouting Bureau Rankings for December, Betts was named as the top available prospect in the 2019 CFL Draft. He was one of two

U Sports U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body for universities in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country and four regional conferences: Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Résea ...

players invited to play in the 2019 East–West Shrine Game. On May 2, he was selected third overall in the 2019 CFL Draft by the

Edmonton Eskimos 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 and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

, though at the time he was under contract with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

Chicago Bears

After 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 ...

on April 27, 2019, Betts signed with the

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 ...

as an undrafted free agent on a three-year contract. Betts was among the final roster cuts on August 31, 2019.

Edmonton Eskimos / Elks

Betts formally joined the

on September 9, 2019, after being selected by the Eskimos in the first round of the 2019 CFL Draft. In his first game, Betts made a major contribution in making a sack, forcing a fumble against the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

. The following week against the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (Canadian French, French: ) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL ...

, Betts had another sack. In total, he played in six games and recorded one defensive tackle, two sacks, and one forced fumble in his rookie season. He did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the

2020 CFL season The 2020 CFL season would have been the 67th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it would have been the 63rd season of the Canadian Football League. It was originally scheduled to begin on June 11; on April 7, the start of the ...

. In

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, Betts played in 13 of the 14 regular season games where he had 12 defensive tackles, but did not record a sack. He became a free agent upon the expiry of his contract on February 8, 2022.

BC Lions (first stint)

On the first day of free agency, on February 8, 2022, Betts signed with the

. Betts played in all 17 regular season games and contributed with 26 defensive tackles, seven sacks and two tackles on special teams. Following the season, in early January 2023, he had a workout with the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

. In

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, Betts had a dominant season where he started in all 18 regular season games and recorded 44 defensive tackles, two special teams tackles, 18 sacks, three forced fumbles, and one blocked kick. Notably, on October 20, 2023, in BC's last game of the regular season, Betts broke the record for most sacks by a National player when he recorded his 18th sack and surpassed

Brent Johnson Brent Spencer Johnson (born March 12, 1977) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played in the National Hockey League for the St. Louis Blues, Phoenix Coyotes, Washington Capitals, and the Pittsburgh Penguins. He is curre ...

(2005) and Jamaal Westerman (2015) who each had 17 in a single season. At the end of season, he was named the CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player and a CFL All-Star. He became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

upon the expiry of his contract on February 13, 2024.

Detroit Lions

On February 13, 2024, it was announced that Betts had signed with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

of the

(NFL). On August 27, 2024, Betts was waived by the Lions and cleared the next day, after going unclaimed.

BC Lions (second stint)

On August 29, 2024, it was announced that Betts had re-signed with the

, on a deal covering the remainder of the 2024 season. He signed a two-year contract extension with BC on December 19, 2024.

References

External links

BC Lions bioLaval Rouge et Or bio2019 East West Shrine Game Prospect Interview: Mathieu Betts, Laval
via

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Betts, Mathieu 1995 births Living people Canadian football defensive linemen Players of American football from Quebec Laval Rouge et Or football players Canadian football people from Montreal Players of Canadian football from Quebec Chicago Bears players Edmonton Elks players BC Lions players Detroit Lions players American football defensive linemen