Freddie Martino (born September 7, 1991) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

North Greenville University North Greenville University is a private Baptist university in Tigerville, South Carolina. It is affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention). It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and ...

and attended North High School in

North, South Carolina North is a town in Orangeburg County, South Carolina, Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 696 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. In 1891, the South Bound Railway Company came through the area with the a ...

. He has been a member of the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

Arizona Hotshots The Arizona Hotshots were a professional American football franchise based in Tempe, Arizona, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which played one season from February 2019 to April 2019. They played their h ...

Tampa Bay Vipers The Vegas Vipers are a professional American football team based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The team is an owned-and-operated member of the XFL, owned by RedBird Capital, Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia's Alpha Acquico, LLC. The team began operation ...

, and

Dallas Renegades The Arlington Renegades are a professional American football team based in Arlington, Texas. The team was founded as the Dallas Renegades by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne ...

College career

Martino played for the

North Greenville Crusaders The North Greenville Crusaders are the athletic teams representing North Greenville University, located in Tigerville, South Carolina, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division II ranks, primarily competing in the Conference Caro ...

from 2010 to 2013. He recorded 296 receptions for 3,766 yards and 26 touchdowns while scoring 5 rushing touchdowns in 48 career games. He was also named the

Conference Carolinas Conference Carolinas, formerly known as the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference (CVAC) or the Carolinas Conference, is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) primarily at the Divisio ...

Track Athlete of the Year for the 2013 indoor season. His track coach was Michael Bayne.

Professional career

Atlanta Falcons

Martino was signed by the

on May 13, 2014 after going undrafted in the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

. He was released by the Falcons on August 29, 2014 and signed to the team's practice squad on September 1, 2014. He made his NFL debut on October 19, 2014 against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

. Martino was released by the Falcons on November 21, 2014. He was re-signed to the Falcons' practice squad on November 25, 2014. He was released by the Falcons on August 7, 2015.

Philadelphia Eagles

Martino signed with the

on August 10, 2015. He was released by the Eagles on September 5 and signed to the team's practice squad on September 6, 2015. He was released by the team on May 2, 2016.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Martino was signed by the

on May 11, 2016. On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Buccaneers as part of final roster cuts. The next day, he was signed to the Buccaneers' practice squad. On September 21, 2016, he was promoted to the active roster. He was released on October 3, 2016. He was re-signed to the practice squad on October 17, 2016. He was promoted back to the active roster on October 22, 2016. He caught his first touchdown pass against the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

on November 13, 2016. On February 27, 2017, Martino signed a one-year contract tender with the Buccaneers. He was waived on September 2, 2017, and was signed to the Buccaneers' practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on November 8, 2017. He was waived on November 13, 2017 and was re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted back to the active roster on November 17, 2017. On September 27, 2018, Martino was released by the Buccaneers. He was re-signed on October 13, 2018, but was released three days later.

Arizona Hotshots

Before the 2019 season, Martino joined the

Orlando Apollos The Orlando Apollos were a professional American football franchise based in Orlando, Florida, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which began play in February 2019. The team played its home games at Spectru ...

of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan are ...

. On January 14, 2019, he was traded to the

in exchange for

Donald Hawkins Donald Hawkins (born April 22, 1992) is a gridiron football tackle for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Northwest Mississippi Community College and the University of Texas. Hawkins ha ...

. The league ceased operations in April 2019.

Tampa Bay Vipers

In October 2019, Martino was selected by the

in open phase of the

2020 XFL Draft The 2020 XFL Draft was the inaugural player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL. The draft was held on October 15–16, 2019, via conference call, with results released through the XFL's social m ...

Dallas Renegades

Martino was traded to the

in exchange for wide receiver Stacy Coley on January 12, 2020. Martino was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

on March 9, 2020. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martino, Freddie Living people 1991 births Players of American football from South Carolina People from North, South Carolina African-American players of American football American football wide receivers North Greenville Crusaders football players Atlanta Falcons players Philadelphia Eagles players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Arizona Hotshots players Tampa Bay Vipers players Dallas Renegades players 21st-century African-American sportspeople