Tyrone Scott Braxton (born December 17, 1964) is an American 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 ...

player who was a

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

in 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) from 1987 to 1999, primarily for 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 ...

. Braxton played in four

Super Bowls 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 ...

with the Broncos, and won two NFL championship rings in Super Bowl XXXII and

Super Bowl XXXIII Super Bowl XXXIII was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion and defending Super Bowl XXXII champion 1998 Denver Broncos season, Denver Broncos and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion ...

. Braxton also played one season with the

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

in 1994 and was a one time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

er in 1996, a season in which he led the NFL in

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, 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 ...

s with nine.

Early life and college

Braxton attended James Madison Memorial High School in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

. 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 ...

North Dakota State University North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota, United States. It was ...

where he earned all-conference honors as a senior and was drafted by the Broncos in the 12th round of the

1987 NFL draft The 1987 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 28–29, 1987, at the Marriot Ma ...

, the second to last pick overall. He has a

Master of Social Work The Master of Social Work (MSW) is a master's degree in the field of social work. It is a professional degree with specializations compared to Bachelor of Social Work (BSW). MSW promotes macro-, mezzo- and micro-aspects of professional social work ...

from

Metropolitan State University of Denver Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver or Metro State) is a public university in Denver, Colorado, United States. It is located on the Auraria Campus, along with the University of Colorado Denver and the Community College of Denver ...

NFL career

In 1990, Braxton had reconstructive knee surgery. He was released after the 1993 season, after being blamed a "scapegoat" behind for a Broncos defense that struggled. The team would finish last in total defense in 1994, the year he was away from the team. After a season as a backup safety with the

, Braxton was re-signed by the Broncos prior to the 1995 season. In 1996, he was tied for the lead in interceptions with

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

safety Keith Lyle with nine. In Super Bowl XXXII, he recorded a key interception from

Brett Favre Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 cons ...

that set up a Broncos touchdown. Braxton finished his 13 NFL seasons with 36 interceptions, which he returned for 617 yards and four touchdowns. He also recorded three sacks and 10 fumble recoveries, which he returned for 106 yards.

Personal life

His brother was convicted in a drug charge and served one year in a Wisconsin state prison back in the 1980s. A second brother served a 25-year prison sentence for armed robbery, while more of his friends were either arrested or died because of drug related issues, which inspired a career for Braxton in the youth ministry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Braxton, Tyrone 1964 births Living people Players of American football from Madison, Wisconsin American football cornerbacks American football safeties Denver Broncos players Miami Dolphins players American Conference Pro Bowl players North Dakota State Bison football players