Elfrid Payton Sr. (born September 22, 1967) is an American former all-star

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

player in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

. Payton graduated from

Grambling State University Grambling State University (GSU, Grambling, or Grambling State) is a public historically black university in Grambling, Louisiana. Grambling State is home of the Eddie G. Robinson Museum and is listed on the Louisiana African American Heritage ...

Career

Payton played with seven different teams over the course of his career. 1991–1993 – Payton played with the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

, where he was an all-star and

James P. McCaffrey Trophy The James P. McCaffrey Trophy is a Canadian Football League trophy, awarded to the outstanding defensive player in the East Division. Each team in the East division nominates a candidate, from which the winner is chosen. Either the winner of thi ...

winner in 1993. 1994 – Payton started the season with the

Shreveport Pirates The Shreveport Pirates were a Canadian Football League team, playing at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, in 1994 and 1995. Despite a relatively strong fan base, they were one of the least successful of the CFL's A ...

, but finished with the

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

finalist

Baltimore CFLers The Baltimore Stallions (known officially as the "Baltimore Football Club" and previously as the "Baltimore CFL Colts" in its inaugural season) were a Canadian Football League team based in Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States, which played ...

, registering twenty seven tackles and four sacks. 1995 – Payton had eighteen sacks in an all-star season with the

champion

Baltimore Stallions The Baltimore Stallions (known officially as the "Baltimore Football Club" and previously as the "Baltimore CFL Colts" in its inaugural season) were a Canadian Football League team based in Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States, which played ...

. 1996–1999 – Payton had three all-star seasons (1997, 1998 and 1999) with the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

. 2000 – Payton returned to the

. 2001 – Payton was an all-star with the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

. 2002–2003 – Payton played with 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 the Brick Field at Commo ...

, where he won the

CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award The Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award is annually awarded to the best defensive player in the Canadian football League. The winner of the award is selected by members of the Football Reporters of Canada along with the head coaches in the CFL. ...

and was an all star in 2002, and won a

in 2003. 2004 – Payton returned to the

. Payton played in 189 total regular season games, seventeen playoff games, and four Grey Cups. His 154 career sacks are the 2nd highest career total in CFL history.

Post-career

In 2010 Payton was inducted into the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about t ...

. Payton's son, also named

Elfrid ''Elfrid: or The Fair Inconstant'', generally shortened to ''Elfrid'', is a 1710 tragedy by the British writer Aaron Hill. Hill wrote the work in less than a fortnight. Set in Saxon England it featured Barton Booth as Athelwold, Charles Powell ...

, was a basketball player at the

University of Louisiana at Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana System and the s ...

who won the 2014

Lefty Driesell Award The Lefty Driesell Defensive Player of the Year Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's college basketball defender in NCAA Division I competition. The award was established in 2010 and is named for head coach Lefty Driesel ...

, and now plays for the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

References

1967 births Living people People from Gretna, Louisiana American players of Canadian football Baltimore Stallions players Canadian football defensive linemen Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award winners Edmonton Elks players Grambling State Tigers football players Montreal Alouettes players Shreveport Pirates players Toronto Argonauts players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players {{Canadianfootball-defensive-lineman-stub