Will D. Allen (born August 5, 1978) 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

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

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). Allen 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

Syracuse Orange The Syracuse Orange are the college athletics in the United States, athletic teams that represent Syracuse University. The school is a member of NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Coast Conference. Until 2013, Syracuse was a member of the Big East ...

. He was selected in the first round of the

2001 NFL draft The 2001 NFL draft was the 66th draft annual of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at the Th ...

by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. Allen has also played for 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 ...

and

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

Early life

Allen attended

Corcoran High School Corcoran High School is a public high school located in Syracuse, New York, having approximately 1800 students. In 2005, it became a member of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program. The principal is Amber Adams. Facilities The facilit ...

in his hometown of Syracuse, New York, where he excelled in

and track. He only played two years of varsity football, both at cornerback, but he managed to collect a career total of 17

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, including a school-record 11 as a senior. In addition, he also played

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 ...

as a senior, catching 23 passes for 460 yards, a 20-yard average per-reception. He helped lead his team to consecutive 10–1 seasons. He was awarded first-team All-

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

and All-

Central New York The central region of New York state includes: * Auburn in Cayuga County * Cortland in Cortland County * Oneida in Madison County * Syracuse, the largest city of Central New York, in Onondaga County * Fulton and Oswego in Oswego County ...

honors as a senior in 1995, and was a first-team all-conference cornerback in both seasons. His high school selected him as Athlete of the Year for 1995–96. Allen placed third in New York State with a 10.5 second time in the

100-meter dash The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

in his senior year.

College career

Opting to remain in his hometown, Allen accepted an

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private school, private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on their ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the U ...

to play

for the

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

Orangemen. After

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

ing as a freshman in the 1996 season, Allen proved to be an outstanding cornerback and

kickoff returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...

, playing in 43 games with 28 starts, including 28 starts in 31 games played over his final three seasons. He is regarded as one of the fastest players to ever play for Syracuse, and recorded a 4.29 second time in the

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

Professional career

New York Giants

Allen was selected in the first round of the

by the

, where he played for his first five seasons from 2001 to 2005. After the 2005 season, the Giants opted to sign

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 ...

Sam Madison rather than re-sign Allen to a new contract. Though Allen was capable of maintaining good position, he struggled to make interceptions (four interceptions after his rookie season).

Miami Dolphins

On March 19, 2006, Will signed a four-year, $12 million contract with the Miami Dolphins. Though he struggled to consistently produce interceptions he gained a reputation for being one of the best cover corners in the secondary. As of Week 17 of the 2008 NFL season, Allen recorded three interceptions, the second of which he returned for what would be his first career defensive touchdown in a win by the Dolphins over 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 ...

. His final interception of the season came against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

in Week 14 in a win by the Dolphins. On May 26, 2009, Dolphins signed Will Allen to a $16.2 million extension through 2011. The deal included $10 million guaranteed. In Week 6 in a game versus the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

, Allen injured his knee during the game. After the game, it was announced that Allen tore his ACL and was put on injured reserve. Allen was arrested February 20, 2010 and charged with driving under the influence when he was stopped in a late-model Ferrari at 3:30 a.m. at the corner of Fifth Street and Alton Road, said Miami Beach police spokesman Detective Juan Sanchez. According to the arrest report, Allen approached a police road-block and instead of following the detour, he kept driving toward a police car, stopping only two feet from it. Allen was placed on injured reserve September 5, 2010 because of a knee, just one week before season opener ending his 2010 season. Allen would go on to restructure his contract with the team. He was set to make $5.5 million in 2011, and took a pay cut to come back. The 11-year veteran has battled injury problems of late, and should be the team's nickel back behind Vontae Davis and Sean Smith. On September 3, 2011, the Dolphins terminated Allen's contract. The Dolphins re-signed Will Allen on September 14, 2011, after releasing Benny Sapp.

New England Patriots

Allen signed with the

on March 21, 2012, to a one-year contract for the NFL minimum. He was placed on injured reserve on August 27, 2012.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Arrest and conviction

In 2015, Allen was arrested and charged with running a $35 million

Ponzi scheme A Ponzi scheme (, ) is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays Profit (accounting), profits to earlier investors with Funding, funds from more recent investors. Named after Italians, Italian confidence artist Charles Ponzi, this type of s ...

. The scheme allegedly involved giving loans to professional athletes. He and his partner Susan Daub pleaded guilty to federal fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering charges. In March 2017, Allen was sentenced to 6 years in prison and ordered to pay $16.8 million in restitution.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Will 1978 births Living people Players of American football from Syracuse, New York American football cornerbacks American people convicted of money laundering American people convicted of fraud Syracuse Orange football players New York Giants players Miami Dolphins players New England Patriots players