Plaxico Burress facts for kids
Burress with the Jets in 2011
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| Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | August 12, 1977 Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. |
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| Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 232 lb (105 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Green Run (Virginia Beach, Virginia) |
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| College: | Michigan State (1997–1999) | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 2000 / Round: 1 / Pick: 8 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| As coach: | |||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||
Plaxico Antonio Burress (born August 12, 1977) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans, and was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the eighth overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft. He also played for the New York Giants and the New York Jets, and caught the game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl XLII as the Giants beat the then-undefeated New England Patriots.
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Personal life
Plaxico Burress was born to Vicki Burress in Norfolk, Virginia. He was named after his uncle, has two brothers, and has been married to Tiffany Glenn since July 2005. They have one son, Elijah and a daughter, Giovanna, born November 2009. Burress graduated from Green Run High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia in 1996 and spent a post-graduate year at Fork Union Military Academy in Fork Union, Virginia. He lives in Totowa, New Jersey.
College career
Burress set a Big Ten Conference single-season record by catching 65 passes in his first season at Michigan State, and also excelled on the special-teams coverage units, using his leaping ability as a kick blocker.
He ranks fifth in career touchdown catches (20), and eighth in receiving yards (2,155) in just two seasons at Michigan State University. He was an All-American second-team selection by SportsPage.com and an All-Big Ten Conference first-team pick in 1999. Burress broke the school season-record he set in 1998 (65 catches) with 66 receptions for 1,142 yards (17.3 avg) and 12 touchdowns. He set a Spartans' single-season-record 12 touchdown receptions, eclipsing the previous record of eight Burress shared (1998) with Andre Rison (1988) and Bob Carey (1949). He forced two fumbles, recovered another, and registered seven tackles (five solos) on special teams.
Burress set a school record with 255 yards receiving on ten catches against the University of Michigan. He ended his career with a school-record 13 receptions for 185 yards and three touchdowns against the University of Florida in the 2000 Citrus Bowl.
He also broke the single-game record of 12 receptions set by tight end Mitch Lyons in 1992. In 1996, he caught 33 passes for 807 yards (24.5 avg.) and 12 touchdowns. Burress was an All-Big Ten Conference first-team selection in 1998 by The Sports Network, and he earned second-team accolades from the league's media. He shared Spartan Outstanding Underclass Back Award honors with tailback Sedrick Irvin and wide receiver Gari Scott. Also, he started All Year at split end and set a school season-record with 65 receptions, topping the previous mark of 60 catches by Courtney Hawkins in 1989. He had more than 100 yards receiving in four games and was ranked third in the conference with an average of 84.4 yards per game and fifth in the conference with an average of 5.4 catches per game. He recorded six solo tackles and forced a fumble on special teams.
Professional career
2000 NFL Combine
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand size | 40-yard dash | Vertical jump | Broad jump | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 5+3⁄8 in (1.97 m) |
231 lb (105 kg) |
33+3⁄4 in (0.86 m) |
9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) |
4.59 s | 33.0 in (0.84 m) |
9 ft 7 in (2.92 m) |
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| All values from NFL Combine | ||||||||||||
Pittsburgh Steelers
After being selected in the first round with the eighth overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft, Burress went on to play five years with the Pittsburgh Steelers, amassing 261 receptions for 4,164 yards, 22 touchdowns, and six fumbles over the span of 71 games. Burress was featured on the MTV show True Life, documenting his rookie season. His rookie season saw him on the wrong end on one of the NFL's most infamous gaffes.
In a game the Steelers eventually won 24–13, Burress caught a 19-yard reception, with his momentum causing him to fall to his knees. The rookie Burress then spiked the ball, believing the play was dead (since that is the rule in the NCAA but not the NFL) but, since he was not touched while he was on the ground, the ball was still live—allowing the Jaguars' Danny Clark to recover the fumble and run 44 yards with it.
He first broke the 1,000-yard mark in his second season, gaining 1,008 yards on 66 receptions. Burress's best season with the Steelers came in 2002, when he set his career highs for receptions (78) and yards (1,325), to go along with seven touchdowns. Also in 2002, Burress played in his first career playoff game, accumulating six receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown. In three subsequent playoff games with the Steelers, Burress totaled only seven receptions, 123 yards, and one touchdown.
Burress's 1,008-yard season in 2001, combined with Hines Ward's 1,003 receiving yards, gave the Steelers their first pair of 1,000-yard receivers. The two would combine to accomplish the same feat in 2002. On November 10, 2002, Burress took advantage of an extra 15 minutes of play to set a Steelers' franchise record with 253 receiving yards in a 34–34 tie against the Atlanta Falcons. He caught nine passes and scored two touchdowns in the game, and nearly won it but was stopped at the 1-yard line as time expired.
New York Giants
On January 23, 2005, after a playoff defeat, Burress announced his intentions to leave the Steelers. On March 17, he signed a six-year, $25 million contract with the New York Giants.
In his first season with the Giants, Burress caught 76 passes for 1,214 yards, helping the team earn an 11–5 record and first place in the NFC East as well as the NFC's fourth seed. However, they were shut out 23–0 by the Carolina Panthers in the opening round of the 2005–06 NFL playoffs.
In the 2006 season, Burress managed a career-high ten touchdowns but fell short of the 1,000-yard mark, appearing in only 15 games and struggling with a groin injury for much of the year. The Giants lost six of their last eight games and fell in the NFC Wild Card playoffs to the NFC East champion Philadelphia Eagles 23–20. Burress had a touchdown catch on the opening drive and finished the game with five receptions for 89 yards and two touchdowns.
In 2007, Burress was the Giants' top receiver with 70 receptions for 1,025 yards, despite not practicing all season because of his ailing ankle. He also set a franchise playoff record in the NFC title game in Green Bay with 11 receptions for 154 yards as the Giants advanced to Super Bowl XLII.
In Super Bowl XLII, Burress caught the game-winning touchdown pass that made the score 17–14 in the Giants' favor over the undefeated (18–0) New England Patriots. He gained a measure of "Super Bowl legend" by predicting the Patriots would lose by the score 23–17.
Before their May mini-camp, Burress and his teammates were invited by then-President George W. Bush to the White House on April 30, 2008 to honor their victory in Super Bowl XLII.
Just before the start of the Giants' mandatory May mini-camp, Burress had said that he would not participate in the camp because he was upset with his contract. He attended the camp to avoid paying a fine but refused to practice with the team. Although he was slated to receive $3.25 million for 2008, Burress felt underpaid compared to other star receivers. After indicating that he might hold out training camp as well, he joined, but practiced very little, claiming his ankle was injured.
In September 2008, Burress did not show up for work on a Monday and could not be reached by phone for two days. On September 24, 2008, the team announced that Burress would be suspended for the game on October 5 for a violation of team rules.
This was not the first time that Burress had been temporarily suspended by an NFL team—in May 2004, he was suspended by the Pittsburgh Steelers for failing to show up for a Monday team practice. On October 24 he was issued four fines totaling $60,000 for the following reasons:
- $20,000 for post-game comments regarding officiating—specifically, inappropriate comments on officiating.
- $20,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct—specifically, verbal abuse of the head linesman.
- $5,000 for throwing the ball in the stands.
- $15,000 for slapping a referee in the face.
Burress signed a five-year, $35 million contract extension prior to the season. However, it was an incentive-laced deal, with $11.5 million in non-guaranteed base salaries in the contract, non-guaranteed roster bonuses of $3.5 million, non-guaranteed escalators of $5 million based on performance and $1.3 million in non-guaranteed workout bonuses among other things. According to various reports, the Giants would be able to cut or trade Burress after the season and get $23 million taken off their books.
On November 2, in the second quarter of the Giants' ninth regular-season game against the Dallas Cowboys, Burress caught his 500th career reception. On November 23, 2008, Burress started the game against the Arizona Cardinals in Arizona after being considered questionable with a hamstring injury. The first play of the game he had a 4-yard reception but it was called back on a penalty. Burress left the game and did not return in what would be his final appearance with the Giants.
Burress was released by the Giants on April 3, 2009, when it was apparent his accidental shooting court case would take longer than expected to resolve.
New York Jets
Burress agreed to a one-year contract worth approximately $3.017 million guaranteed with the New York Jets on July 31, 2011, after turning down a two-year deal from the Pittsburgh Steelers that was rumored to be valued at a little more than the Jets offer but without as much guaranteed money. In his first game back in New York at MetLife Stadium in a pre-season matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals, Burress caught a pass from Mark Sanchez on the first play of the Jets' first drive, and in the second quarter caught a touchdown pass. On October 23, 2011, in a game against the San Diego Chargers Burress caught three touchdown passes from Sanchez, tying a game career high.
Second stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers
Burress re-signed with the Steelers on November 20, 2012, after injuries sustained by Jerricho Cotchery and Antonio Brown. On December 30, 2012, Burress caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Burress had not caught a touchdown from Roethlisberger since 2004. On March 12, 2013, Burress signed a one-year deal to stay with the Steelers. He suffered a torn rotator cuff during a practice on August 8; on August 13, Burress was placed on the injured reserve list by the Steelers.
NFL career statistics
| Year | Team | GP | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FD | Fum | Lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | PIT | 12 | 22 | 273 | 12.4 | 39 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 1 |
| 2001 | PIT | 16 | 66 | 1,008 | 15.3 | 43 | 6 | 48 | 1 | 0 |
| 2002 | PIT | 16 | 78 | 1,325 | 17.0 | 62 | 7 | 64 | 2 | 1 |
| 2003 | PIT | 16 | 60 | 860 | 14.3 | 47 | 4 | 40 | 1 | 0 |
| 2004 | PIT | 11 | 35 | 698 | 19.9 | 48 | 5 | 31 | 1 | 0 |
| 2005 | NYG | 16 | 76 | 1,214 | 16.0 | 78 | 7 | 49 | 1 | 1 |
| 2006 | NYG | 15 | 63 | 988 | 15.7 | 55 | 10 | 44 | 2 | 1 |
| 2007 | NYG | 16 | 70 | 1,025 | 14.6 | 60 | 12 | 49 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | NYG | 10 | 35 | 454 | 13.0 | 33 | 4 | 25 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | NYJ | 16 | 45 | 612 | 13.6 | 30 | 8 | 38 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | PIT | 4 | 3 | 42 | 14.0 | 18 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | PIT | 0 | 0 | did not play due to injury | ||||||
| Career | 148 | 553 | 8,499 | 15.4 | 78 | 64 | 404 | 9 | 4 | |
Coaching career
Arizona Cardinals
On July 22, 2017, Burress was hired by the Arizona Cardinals as a coaching intern.
Other ventures
Burress, co-wrote the book Giant: The Road to the Super Bowl (ISBN: 978-0-06-169574-2), published July 1, 2008 by It Books, about his Super Bowl experience.
Burress appeared on Celebrity Wife Swap on July 29, 2014. Burress joined SportsNet, New York's SportsNite, making his debut as an NFL analyst on Sunday September 7, 2014.
