Nicholas John Bosa (born October 23, 1997) is an
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 ...
defensive end
Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football.
This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...
for the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL). 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 ...
at
Ohio State
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...
and was selected
second overall by the 49ers in the
2019 NFL Draft
The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April 2 ...
. Bosa was named
NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year
Various entities present a National Football League Rookie of the Year Award each season to the top rookie(s) in the National Football League (NFL). The NFL considers the (rookie) of the year awards by the Associated Press (AP) to be its official ...
by having nine sacks in the regular season and helping his team reach
Super Bowl LIV
Super Bowl LIV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2019 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the National Football Conferenc ...
. He is the son of former NFL defensive end
John Bosa
John Wilfred Bosa (born January 10, 1964) is a former American football defensive end who played three seasons for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played football for Keene High School in Keene, New Hampshire and ...
and younger brother of
Joey
Joey may refer to:
People
*Joey (name)
Animals
* Joey (marsupial), an infant marsupial
* Joey, a Blue-fronted Amazon parrot who was one of the Blue Peter pets
Film and television
* ''Joey'' (1977 film), an American film directed by Horace ...
, currently a linebacker for the
Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...
.
Early years
Bosa attended
St. Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known ...
in
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...
where he was a four-year starter and a multi-year first-team all-state player. He was a five-star recruit and was ranked among the best players in his class. He committed to
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
to play college football.
College career
![PAB FB vsOSU2016 61 (31161500011) (2)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/PAB_FB_vsOSU2016_61_%2831161500011%29_%282%29.jpg)
Bosa played in all 13 games as a true freshman at Ohio State in 2016, recording 29 tackles, seven of which were for a loss, and five sacks.
In his sophomore year, he became the starting defensive end for the Buckeyes in seven games. Bosa was named a unanimous First-team All-Big Ten and the Smith-Brown Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year for his 32 total tackles (14.5 for a loss) and a team leading seven sacks. Additionally, he had two pass breakups, eight quarterback hurries and a blocked kick.
On September 20, 2018, it was reported that Bosa underwent core muscle surgery, ruling him out indefinitely. On October 16, Bosa announced that he was withdrawing from Ohio State for the rest of the season. After the season, Bosa decided to forgo his senior year and enter the
2019 NFL Draft
The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April 2 ...
.
College statistics
Professional career
Coming out of Ohio State, Bosa was projected to be the first overall pick in the draft by a majority of analysts and scouts. Bosa received an invitation to the
NFL Scouting Combine
The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footb ...
as one of the top prospects at the draft. He completed all of the required combine drills and positional drills except for the 10 yard and 20 yard split. Bosa met and interviewed with 8 NFL teams at the combine, including the
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...
,
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
,
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
,
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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
, and
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 ...
. A week before the draft, Bosa was criticized by some due to his political beliefs and controversial tweets, such as calling
Colin Kaepernick
Colin Rand Kaepernick ( ; born November 3, 1987) is an American civil rights activist and football quarterback who is a free agent. He played six seasons for the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL). In 2016, he knelt dur ...
a "clown", expressing support for US president
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
, and
"liking" a post on
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
that included racial and homophobic slurs as
hashtag
A hashtag is a metadata tag that is prefaced by the hash (also known as pound or octothorpe) sign, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services such as Twitter or Instagram as a form of user-generated ...
s.
Bosa was not seen as the projected 1st pick anymore after
Heisman Winner Kyler Murray
Kyler Cole Murray (born August 7, 1997) is an American football quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint at Texas A&M University, Texas A&M, Murray played college football at University of Okl ...
NFL Draft Combine
The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footba ...
measurements were excellent . Bosa was selected by the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
in the first round with the second overall pick in the
2019 NFL Draft
The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April 2 ...
.
2019 season
![Nick Bosa Jan 2019](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Nick_Bosa_Jan_2019.jpg)
On July 25, 2019, Bosa signed a 4-year deal with the 49ers worth $33.5 million featuring a $22.5 million signing bonus and a fifth year option.
Bosa made his NFL debut in Week 1 against the
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 ...
. In the game, he made 3 tackles and sacked quarterback
Jameis Winston
Jameis Lanaed Winston ( ; born January 6, 1994) is an American football quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida State, where he became the youngest player to win the He ...
once in the 31–17 road victory.
During a Week 5 31–3 victory over the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
, Bosa sacked
Baker Mayfield
Baker Reagan Mayfield (born April 14, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint with Texas Tech, Mayfield played college football at Oklahoma, where he won the Hei ...
twice, one of which resulted in a fumble, earning him NFC Defensive Player of the Week. In the next game against the
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...
, Bosa sacked
Kyle Allen
Kyle Allen (born March 8, 1996) is an American football quarterback for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). A native of Scottsdale, Arizona, he played high school football at Desert Mountain and was among the top football ...
thrice and recorded his first career interception in the 51–13 win. He was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance along with his brother Joey, who was voted AFC Defensive Player of the Week. The next day, Bosa was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Month for his play in October.
Bosa finished his rookie year with 47 tackles, nine sacks, a forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, two pass deflections, and an interception in 16 games and 14 starts. In the Divisional Round of the playoffs against the
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...
, Bosa sacked
Kirk Cousins
Kirk Daniel Cousins (born August 19, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan State and was drafted by the team then known as the Washingto ...
twice during the 27–10 win. In the NFC Championship Game against the Packers, Bosa sacked Aaron Rodgers once in the 37–20 win. At the NFL Honors, Bosa won the AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, which his father accepted on his behalf due to Bosa being at the Super Bowl in Miami. In
Super Bowl LIV
Super Bowl LIV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2019 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the National Football Conferenc ...
against the
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The tea ...
, he recorded a strip sack on
Patrick Mahomes
Patrick Lavon Mahomes II (born September 17, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). The son of former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher Pat Mahomes, he initially played co ...
during the 31–20 loss.
2020 season
During Week 2 against the
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
, Bosa suffered a
torn ACL
An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...
and was ruled out for the rest of the season. He 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 September 23, 2020. During Bosa's rehab, he hired a private chef and took on a strict, protein-heavy diet as part of his recovery.
2021 season
Bosa made his return to the field during Week 1 on September 12. He had 4 solo tackles, 3 tackles for loss, and sacked
Jared Goff
Jared Thomas Goff (born October 14, 1994) is an American football quarterback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at California, where he set the Pac-12 Conference season records for passing ...
once during the game. During Week 11 against the
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...
, he got his tenth sack of the season, breaking his rookie-season sack total of nine. Bosa finished the season with 15.5 sacks, the fourth most in the league.
2022 season
On April 25, 2022, the 49ers picked up the fifth-year option on Bosa's rookie contract. On December 1, Bosa was announced by the NFL as the NFC Defensive Player of the Month for the month of November. In 3 games in November, he recorded 5 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks, and 10 quarterback hits, with the 49ers going 3–0 during that span.
NFL career statistics
Regular season
Postseason
Personal life
![Nick and Joey Bosa signing autographs, Jan 2019](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Nick_and_Joey_Bosa_signing_autographs%2C_Jan_2019.jpg)
His brother,
Joey Bosa
Joseph Anthony Bosa (born July 11, 1995) is an American football outside linebacker for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State and was selected third overall by the (then San Dieg ...
, also played college football at Ohio State before being selected third overall by the
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
in the
2016 NFL Draft
The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...
. Their father,
John Bosa
John Wilfred Bosa (born January 10, 1964) is a former American football defensive end who played three seasons for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played football for Keene High School in Keene, New Hampshire and ...
, was a first round pick by the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...
in 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 Marq ...
out of
Boston College
Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
. His uncle
Eric Kumerow
Eric Palmer Kumerow (born April 17, 1965) is a former American football linebacker who played three seasons for the Miami Dolphins and one season with the Chicago Bears in the National Football League (NFL). He played 42 games in his NFL caree ...
, and cousin
Jake Kumerow
Jake Anthony Kumerow (born February 17, 1992) is an American football wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Illinois Fighting Illini football, Illinois and Wisconsin–Whitewater ...
, have also played in the NFL. His grand-uncle,
Mike Pyle, also played in the NFL. He is the great-grandson of former
Chicago Outfit
The Chicago Outfit (also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or The Organization) is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate or crime family based in Chicago, Illinois, tha ...
leader
Tony Accardo
Anthony Joseph Accardo (; born Antonino Leonardo Accardo, ; April 28, 1906 – May 22, 1992), also known as "Joe Batters" and "Big Tuna", was an American longtime mobster. In a criminal career that spanned eight decades, he rose from small-time ho ...
.
References
External links
*
*
Ohio State Buckeyes bioSan Francisco 49ers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bosa, Nick
1997 births
Living people
Players of American football from Fort Lauderdale, Florida
American football defensive ends
Ohio State Buckeyes football players
San Francisco 49ers players
American sportspeople of Italian descent
St. Thomas Aquinas High School (Florida) alumni
National Football League Defensive Rookie of the Year Award winners
National Conference Pro Bowl players