Nicholas Bolton (born March 10, 2000) 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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

for 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 ...

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

Missouri Tigers The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the "Fighting Tigers of Columbia" who, in 1864, protected Columbia ...

, and was selected by the Chiefs in the second round of the

2021 NFL draft The 2021 NFL draft was the 86th National Football League draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland, Ohio from April 29 to May ...

. Bolton has won two

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

titles, LVII and LVIII, having been a starter in the

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

and

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 ...

Chiefs teams. He also scored a defensive

touchdown 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 ...

from a

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

recovery in the first win.

Early life

Bolton attended Lone Star High School in

Frisco, Texas Frisco is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Collin County, Texas, Collin and Denton County, Texas, Denton counties. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex (DFW) and about from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth In ...

. He had 130 tackles and five

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team bu ...

as a senior and 111 tackles and one interception his junior season. He committed to the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

to play

College career

As a true freshman at Missouri in 2018, he played in all 13 games recording 22 tackles and one sack. As a sophomore in 2019, he became a starter. He had two interceptions, including one for a touchdown, in a game against West Virginia in the 2019 season. He was named first-team

All-Southeastern Conference The All-SEC football team is an annual Southeastern Conference (SEC) honor bestowed on the best players in the conference following every college football season. Seasons

Following is a list of all-conference teams in the history of the SEC: ...

(SEC) after finishing with 103 tackles, two interceptions and one sack. During a

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

scheduled ten game season in 2020, Bolton finished with 95 tackles and two sacks to close out his junior year. He was once again named first-team All-SEC. In addition, he received

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

Second-team

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 ...

honors.

College statistics

Professional career

Bolton was selected by the

in the second round (58th overall) of the

. The Chiefs used a 2nd round selection they previously acquired along with Orlando Brown Jr. in a trade that sent the 31st overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft (

Odafe Oweh Odafe Jayson Oweh (; born December 15, 1998), is an American professional football linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions and was selected by the Rave ...

) to 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 ...

. On May 13, 2021, Bolton officially signed with the Chiefs on a $5.84 million deal. Bolton was put on the Reserve/

list on December 21. He was activated on December 25. In Week 18, against 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 recorded his first NFL touchdown on an 86-yard fumble return in the 28–24 victory. As a rookie, he appeared in 16 games and started 12. He finished with 112 total tackles and three passes defended. He was named to the 2021 PFWA All-Rookie Team. During the 2022 season, Bolton recorded two sacks, 180 total tackles (108 solo), two interceptions, three passes defended, and one forced fumble. He finished second in the NFL in combined and solo tackles in the 2022 season, helping the Chiefs reach

Super Bowl LVII Super Bowl LVII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2022 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the National Football Confere ...

. Bolton then played a key role in their 38–35 victory over the

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 ...

, leading both teams with nine total tackles, and returning a fumble by

Jalen Hurts Jalen Alexander Hurts (born August 7, 1998) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). Hurts began his college football career with the Alabama Crims ...

36 yards for a touchdown. During the 2023 season, Bolton recorded 60 total tackles, one interception, and three passes defended. The Chiefs reached

Super Bowl LVIII Super Bowl LVIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2023 NFL season, 2023 season. A rematch of Super Bowl LIV four years prior, the American Football Conference (AFC) 20 ...

where they defeated 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 ...

, 25–22, to repeat as Super Bowl champions. Bolton led both teams with 13 total tackles. During Week 13 of the 2024 season against the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...

, Bolton recorded 11 tackles and recovered a fumble from Raiders quarterback Aidan O'Connell with 14 seconds left in the game. This would, in essence, end the game and send the Chiefs to the playoffs, marking their 10th straight appearance in the postseason. However, in

Super Bowl LIX Super Bowl LIX was an American football championship game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2024 NFL season, 2024 season. In a rematch of Super Bowl LVII two years prior, the National Football Conf ...

, a rematch of Super Bowl LVII, the Chiefs lost to the Eagles, 40–22, erasing their hopes of becoming the first NFL team to win three consecutive Super Bowls. Bolton recorded nine tackles in the game, as he did the first time he took on the Eagles in the Super Bowl. On March 14, 2025, Bolton re-signed with the Chiefs on a three-year, $45 million contract.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life

Bolton is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

References

External links

Kansas City Chiefs bioMissouri Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolton, Nick 2000 births Living people Players of American football from Frisco, Texas American football linebackers Missouri Tigers football players Kansas City Chiefs players Lone Star High School (Frisco, Texas) alumni