Jamael Orondé "Rondé" Barber (born April 7, 1975) is an American former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

who spent his entire 16-year professional career playing for 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 ...

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 is the identical twin brother of

Tiki Barber Atiim Kiambu "Tiki" Barber (; born April 7, 1975) is an American former football running back who played for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons. He played college football for the University of Virginia ...

, a former

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

for 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

. Barber grew up in

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is lo ...

and 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 ...

for the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

. In the

1997 NFL Draft The 1997 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 19–20, 1997, at the Paramount T ...

, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Ronde Barber in the third round as the 66th overall pick. Over the course of his career, Barber was selected to five

Pro Bowls The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

, accumulated three first team All-Pro selections, two second-team All-Pro selections, and was selected to the

National Football League 2000s All-Decade Team The NFL 2000s All-Decade Team is composed of outstanding performers in the National Football League in the ten years spanning 2000–2009. Only a player or coach's performance in the 2000s is used as criteria for voting. The full team was ann ...

. Additionally, he led the NFL in interceptions in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, is the Buccaneers all-time interceptions leader, is one of the two members of the 40/20 club (40+ interceptions, 20+ quarterback sacks) alongside Charles Woodson, and the only member of the 45/25 club (45+ interceptions, 25+ quarterback sacks). After the 2002 season, Barber won

Super Bowl XXXVII Super Bowl XXXVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Oakland Raiders and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers to decide the National Football League (NFL) cham ...

against the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

. He also holds the record for most consecutive starts by a defensive back. Barber was inducted into the

Virginia Sports Hall of Fame The Virginia Sports Hall of Fame honors athletes, coaches, administrators, journalists and other contributors to athletics. Many of the more than 350 inductees since 1972 were born in Virginia or enjoyed success in college, professional, amateur or ...

in 2014.

Early years

The Barber twin boys were born five weeks

premature Premature may refer to: * ''Premature'' (2014 film), an American comedy film * ''Premature'' (2019 film), an American romantic drama film * '' PREMature'', a 2015 British television drama miniseries See also * Premature aging, of an organism * ...

. Barber was born seven minutes before his identical twin brother

. He was named Jamael Oronde which means "first born son". Tiki was a

who played for the

. Barber is the son of Geraldine Barber and Daniel X Brack. Barber was a star running back at

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

and later played in the

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest t ...

. His roommate in college was

Bruce Arians Bruce Charles Arians (born October 3, 1952) is an American football executive and former coach in the National Football League (NFL). Since 2022, he has been a senior football consultant for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Arians was previously the he ...

. His parents separated when Barber was very young. Barber father Daniel X., was a young struggling entertainer that traveled a lot, which did not allow him opportunities to provide suitable financial support and rarely he had time to see his sons when they were growing up. His mother Geraldine worked two, sometimes three jobs to support her three sons. He and Tiki have an older brother, Tarik Barber. Barber graduated from Cave Spring High School of

in 1993, and was a standout in

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

, and

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

. In football, Barber was a three-time All-District selection. In track, Barber won the national title in the

55-meter hurdles 55 metres hurdles is a distance in hurdling Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both fee ...

as a senior in 1993, with a career-best time of 7.18 seconds. He was timed at 14.05 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles. He also won four Group AAA hurdles titles in indoor and outdoor track.

College career

Barber received an athletic scholarship to attend the

, where he played for the

Virginia Cavaliers football The Virginia Cavaliers football team represents the University of Virginia in the sport of American football. Established in 1888, Virginia plays its home games at Scott Stadium, capacity 61,500, featured directly on its campus near the Academi ...

team. He redshirted the 1993 season and played for the Cavaliers from the 1994 to 1996 seasons as a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

. He was also a

kick 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 ...

in 1994 and 1996; in 1994, Barber returned 10 kickoffs for 171 yards, and in 1996, he returned 3 for 36 yards. As a defensive back, Barber made 15 interceptions returned for 112 yards in his career with Virginia: 8 for 56 yards in 1994, 4 for 18 yards in 1995, and 3 for 38 yards in 1996. The

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

(ACC) recognized Barber as Freshman of the Year after the 1994 season, and Barber earned first-team All-ACC honors in all his three seasons with Virginia. Barber was part of the Virginia teams that won the 1994

Independence Bowl The Independence Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that is played annually each December at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Independence Bowl ...

and December 1995

Peach Bowl The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Atlanta, Georgia since December 1968. Since 1997, it has been sponsored by Chick-fil-A and is officially known as the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. From 2006 to 2013, it was officially re ...

. After his junior season in 1996, Barber declared for the

. Barber graduated from Virginia in 1997 with a bachelor's degree in commerce with an emphasis in marketing. During Barber’s time at UVa, he was a member of the

IMP Society The IMP Society is a secret society at the University of Virginia that is notable for combining philanthropy and public mischief. It was founded in 1902 as a society called the Hot Feet. The society was known primarily for its public ceremonies ...

, one of the University’s secret societies.

Professional career

On January 3, 1997, Barber announced his decision to forgo his final season of eligibility and enter the

. He became only the third player from the University of Virginia to enter the NFL draft with eligibility remaining.

1997

The

drafted Barber in the third round (66th overall) of the

. Barber was the third underclassmen selected in 1997 and was the tenth cornerback. His brother,

, was drafted in the second round (36th overall) by the

. Ronde and Tiki Barber became only the fourth set of twins to be selected in the same draft in NFL history, following

Rich Rich may refer to: Common uses * Rich, an entity possessing wealth * Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling ** Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting Places United States * Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated commun ...

and Ron Saul (1970), Reggie and Raleigh McKenzie (1985), and

Keith Keith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Keith (surname) * Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949) * Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons ...

and Kerry Cash (1991). They also became only the seventh set of twins to play in the league. As a rookie, Barber played only one game, in Week 5 (September 28) against 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 ...

. Barber had three tackles. Tampa advanced to the divisional round of the playoffs but lost to the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

1998

In his second season, Barber started nine games (three as left cornerback and six as right cornerback) and played in all 16 games, recording 68 tackles, 17 passes deflected, 3 sacks, 2 interceptions (returned for 67 yards), 2 forced fumbles, and 12

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackles.

1999

In the 1999 season, Barber again played in all 16 games and started 15 as right cornerback. Improving from his previous seasons, Barber posted 74 tackles, two interceptions (60 yards), one sack, and 16 passes deflected. Making his postseason debut this season, Barber also started both playoff games; the Buccaneers lost the

NFC Championship game The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...

to eventual

Super Bowl XXXIV Super Bowl XXXIV was an American football game played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on January 30, 2000, to determine the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1999 NFL season, 1999 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champ ...

champion

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

2000

For the first time in his career, Barber started all 16 games in a season in 2000. Barber reached new career bests with 97 tackles, 20 passes deflected, and 5.5 sacks. With his 5.5 sacks, Barber led all NFC defensive backs in sacks. He had two interceptions (46 yards), one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and six special teams tackles. For the Week 2 (September 10) game, Barber was NFC Defensive Player of the Week for 3 tackles, 2.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and a 24-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown 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 ...

. Picking and returning for 37 yards a pass from former Tampa quarterback

Vinny Testaverde Vincent Frank Testaverde Sr. (; born November 13, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons. He played college football at Miami, where he was an All-American and won the Hei ...

, Barber scored his first career touchdown from an interception return in the Week 4 (September 24) 21–17 loss to 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 ...

. In the Wild Card game on December 31, a 21–3 loss to the

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 ...

, Barber made 5 tackles.

2001

On April 9, 2001, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Barber to a six-year, $18.50 million contract. In 2001, Barber started 16 of 16 regular season games and made 71 tackles, 1 sack, 14 passes deflected, and 10 interceptions (86 yards). Barber returned an intercepted pass from Aaron Brooks 36 yards for a touchdown in the Week 15 (December 23) win over 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 league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

. Barber made his first

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

and

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list th ...

teams this season.

2002

Starting all 16 games again this season, Barber made 79 tackles, 3 sacks, 17 passes deflected, and returned 2 interceptions for 9 yards. Barber was part of a Tampa secondary that ranked first in total defense and passes defended. Barber also started all three playoff games, including Tampa's

victory. In the NFC Championship game on January 19, 2003, Barber picked off a pass from

quarterback

Donovan McNabb Donovan Jamal McNabb (born November 25, 1976) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. Before his NFL career, he played football and b ...

and returned the interception 92 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to seal Tampa's 27-10 road victory and brought

Veterans Stadium Veterans Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. The seating capacities were 65,358 for footb ...

to near-silence. Bob Ford of ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'' labeled this game as "the most ignominious defeat of

Andy Reid Andrew Walter Reid (born March 19, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Reid was previously head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999 to 2012. From 200 ...

's head coaching career" because of Barber's interception return. In 2011, ''

Tampa Bay Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single y ...

'' sportswriter Rick Stroud ranked Barber's interception return for touchdown in the NFC Championship game as the greatest scoring play in team history. Barber also deflected 4 passes in that game. In Tampa's 48–21 victory over the

on January 26, 2003, Barber made five tackles.

2003

For the fourth consecutive season, Barber started all 16 regular season games. Barber again continued to make more tackles annually with 97 this season. Additionally, Barber deflected 3 passes, returned 2 interceptions for 53 yards, and forced 3 fumbles. In Week 5 (October 6), a 38–35 overtime loss to the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

, Barber returned an intercepted pass from

Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and four with th ...

29 yards for a touchdown.

2004

Starting all 16 regular-season games, Barber made 98 tackles, 3 sacks, 10 passes defended, 3 interceptions returned for 23 yards, and 2 forced fumbles. Chosen as a starter for the

2005 Pro Bowl The 2005 Pro Bowl was the NFL's all-star game for the 2004 season. The game was played February 13, 2005, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The final score was AFC 38 – NFC 27. The most valuable player was Peyton Manning of the Colts ...

, Barber made his second career Pro Bowl appearance. This season, Barber also earned first-team All-Pro honors from the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

. For the second time since the 2002 Super Bowl championship season, Tampa's pass defense was number one in the league, and Tampa's total defense was in the top ten for the eighth straight season.

2005

Barber had 99 tackles, 2 sacks, 15 passes defended, and 5 interceptions returned for 105 yards in 16 games (all starts) in 2005. Barber intercepted three passes (returned for 70 yards) from Saints quarterback Aaron Brooks on December 4 (Week 13) in Tampa's 10–3 win over New Orleans, including one in the end zone in the Saints' final drive. On December 11, in the Week 14 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 ...

, he became the first cornerback in the history of the NFL to record at least 20

interceptions In ball-playing 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 a player of the same team b ...

and 20 sacks in his career. Tampa lost the Wild Card game 17–10 to the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

, and Barber made 8 tackles that game. Barber made his third career Pro Bowl appearance in the

2006 Pro Bowl The 2006 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2005 season. The game was played on February 12, 2006, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. It marked the 27th consecutive time that the National Football League's all-s ...

2006

In 2006, starting 16 of 16 regular-season games, Barber had 98 tackles and 13 passes deflected. He also returned 3 interceptions for 103 yards; two of those interceptions Barber returned for touchdowns. On October 22 (Week 7) against Philadelphia, Barber became the first player in Buccaneers history to return two interceptions for touchdowns in one regular-season game. After Barber scored in the second quarter on a 37-yard return of an interception from Donovan McNabb, Tampa took a 17–0 lead late in the third quarter with Barber's 66-yard interception return of a McNabb pass. Despite a late comeback by the Eagles, Tampa won 23–21 on a last-second

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

Matt Bryant Steven Matt Bryant (born May 29, 1975), nicknamed "Money Matt", is a former American football placekicker. He played college football for the Baylor Bears, and was signed as an unrestricted free agent by the AFL's Iowa Barnstormers in 2000. A ...

. Barber made his fourth career and third consecutive Pro Bowl in the

2007 Pro Bowl The 2007 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2006 season. The game took place on February 10, 2007, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The game was held on a Saturday instead of the usual Sunday after the Super B ...

2007

Prior to the season, the team voted Barber as defensive captain. In 16 games, Barber made 58 tackles, one sack, 14 passes deflected, 2 interceptions returned for 32 yards (including a 29-yard touchdown run), and one forced fumble. On November 25, 2007, he took the record from

Donnie Abraham Nathaniel Donnell Abraham (born October 8, 1973) is an American football coach and former cornerback who is the current Defensive Coordinator for St. Louis Battlehawks. In his career, he played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1996–2001) and the ...

for the most interceptions in Buccaneers team history by catching his 32nd against the

. In a 37–3 victory over 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 ...

on Week 15 (December 16), Barber returned an interception of

Chris Redman Chris James Redman (born July 7, 1977) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League for nine seasons. He played college football at the University of Louisville and was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in ...

29 yards for a touchdown.

2008

In 2008, starting 16 of 16 regular season games for the ninth straight season, Barber made 75 tackles, 2 sacks, 12 passes defended, and 4 interceptions returned for 69 yards (including a 65-yard return for touchdown). Again a team defensive captain, Barber made his fifth career and most recent Pro Bowl appearance in the 2009 Pro Bowl. In the Week 12 (November 23), a 38–20 win over the hosting

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

, Barber intercepted Lions quarterback

Daunte Culpepper Daunte Rachard Culpepper (born January 28, 1977) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football at UCF and was selected ...

twice and returned one interception 65 yards for a touchdown.

2009

In the 2009 regular season, Barber made 77 tackles, 2 sacks, 6 passes defended, and 2 forced fumbles in 16 games (all starts). However, for the first time since his 1997 rookie season, Barber did not intercept a pass the entire season. Barber had some crucial plays on special teams: in Week 4 (October 4) against the

, Barber blocked an

extra point The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...

kick by

Shaun Suisham Shaun Christopher Suisham (; born December 29, 1981) is a Canadian-born former American football placekicker in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, Washington Redskins and Pittsburgh Steelers. He was signed b ...

. In the Week 9 win over the

, Barber returned a punt blocked by

Geno Hayes Eugene Antonio "Geno" Hayes (August 10, 1987 – April 26, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for the Florida State Seminoles, he was sele ...

31 yards for a tying touchdown. Along with

Tony Dungy Anthony Kevin Dungy ( ; born October 6, 1955) is an American former football safety and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts. Dungy's teams be ...

Derrick Brooks Derrick Dewan Brooks (born April 18, 1973) is an American former football outside linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brooks played college football at Florida State, wh ...

, and

Warren Sapp Warren Carlos Sapp (born December 19, 1972) is an American former football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Sapp played college football at Miami, where h ...

, Barber was voted to the

NFL 2000s All-Decade Team The NFL 2000s All-Decade Team is composed of outstanding performers in the National Football League in the ten years spanning 2000– 2009. Only a player or coach's performance in the 2000s is used as criteria for voting. The full team was an ...

prior to the

2010 Pro Bowl The 2010 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2009 season. It took place at 8:00 PM EST on Sunday, January 31, 2010, at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins and host site ...

2010

Barber made 82 tackles, defended 13 passes, and returned 3 interceptions for 98 yards in 16 games. With his 172nd consecutive start in Week 6 (October 17), Barber surpassed

Dick LeBeau Charles Richard "Dick" LeBeau ( ; born September 9, 1937) is a former American football cornerback and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He was active with the NFL for 59 consecutive seasons, 14 as a player with the Detroit Lions and ...

for most consecutive starts by an NFL cornerback and played in his 200th career game two weeks later. On November 21, 2010, Barber became the only player in NFL history with at least 25 sacks (26 total) and 40 interceptions with a 21–0 win over the San Francisco 49ers.

2011

Starting all 16 games as a right cornerback, Barber had 79 tackles, 9 passes defended, 1 safety, and 3 interceptions returned for 12 yards. On October 23 (Week 7), in an

NFL International Series The NFL International Series is a series of American football games during the National Football League (NFL) NFL regular season, regular season that are List of National Football League games played outside the United States, played outside th ...

game against the

held in London, England, Barber recorded his first career

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

when he tackled

Matt Forte Matthew Garrett Forte (born December 10, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tulane Green Wave and was drafted ...

in the end zone.

2012

On May 15, 2012, Barber officially switched positions to become a

free safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...

. Barber started all 16 games for the 13th straight season and had 91 tackles, 13 passes defended, 4 interceptions returned for 160 yards, and a forced fumble. On Week 6 (October 14) 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 ...

, Barber intercepted a pass from

Brady Quinn Brayden Tyler "Brady" Quinn (born October 27, 1984) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football at Notre Dame, where he won the Maxwell Award, and w ...

and returned the interception 78 yards for a touchdown during the third quarter and also blocked a punt. In this season's roster, Barber was the only member of the Super Bowl XXXVII championship team still active with the team. Responding to media speculation about retirement, Barber commented in December: "I’m not ready to make a decision on it. I’m pretty sure it will play itself out when the time comes."

Retirement

On May 8, 2013, Barber announced his retirement. At the time of his retirement, he was the active leader in defensive touchdowns scored, with 14.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

* Barber returned a blocked punt for a touchdown, which is officially recognized as a punt return touchdown as the ball traveled past the line of scrimmage. * Barber did not start the Week 10 game vs the

, as such his record streak of consecutive starts did not begin until the Week 11 game vs the

NFL records

* Most consecutive starts by a defensive back: 215 (224 including playoffs), 1999–2012 * Most consecutive starts by a cornerback: 200 (209 including playoffs), 1999–2012 * Only player in NFL history with 45+ interceptions and 25+ sacks

Buccaneers franchise records

* Most interceptions in a single season: 10 (2001) * Most interceptions in a career: 47 * Most pass deflections in a career: 197 * 2nd most fumble recoveries in a career: 12 * Most non-offensive touchdowns in a career: 14 * Most starts in a career (any position): 232 (1997–2012) * Most games played in a career (any position): 241 (1997–2012) * Most sacks by a defensive back in a career: 28 * Most interceptions in a game: 3 (tied with

Aqib Talib Aqib Talib (born February 13, 1986) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at the University of Kansas, where he received consensus All-American honors, and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first ro ...

and Andrew Adams) * Most fumble return touchdowns in a season: 2 (tied with

Ndamukong Suh Ndamukong Ngwa Suh ( , born January 6, 1987) is an American football defensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Nebraska, where he earned All-American honors, and was drafte ...

and

Devin White Devin Marcel White (born February 17, 1998) is an American football linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU, and was drafted by the Buccaneers fifth overall in the 2019 N ...

)

Other work

In 2010, Barber appeared on the satirical sports show ''

The Onion ''The Onion'' is an American digital media company and newspaper organization that publishes satirical articles on international, national, and local news. The company is based in Chicago but originated as a weekly print publication on August 2 ...

Sportsdome''. After his retirement, Barber joined

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...

as an NFL

color analyst A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and the ...

. From 2013 to 2019 he called ''

NFL on Fox The ''NFL on Fox'' (also known as ''Fox NFL'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games produced by Fox Sports and televised on the Fox broadcast network. Game coverage is usually preceded by ''Fox NFL Kickoff ...

'' telecasts with

Chris Myers Chris Myers (born ) is an American sportscaster. He has covered the Super Bowl, the World Series, the NBA Finals, the NCAA Final Four, The Masters, the U.S. Open, the Triple Crown, the Olympics, and the Daytona 500. Early life and career ...

and

Kenny Albert Kenneth Gary Albert (born February 2, 1968) is an American sportscaster, the son of NBA sportscaster Marv Albert and nephew of sportscasters Al Albert and Steve Albert. He is the only sportscaster who currently does play-by-play for all four ma ...

, and contributed to studio programming on

Fox Sports 1 Fox Sports 1 (FS1) is an American pay television channel owned by the Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. FS1 replaced the motorsports network Speed on August 17, 2013, at the same time that its companion channel Fox Sports 2 ...

. Since 2004, Ronde Barber has co-written eight children's books with his brother

Tiki In Māori mythology, Tiki is the first man created by either Tūmatauenga or Tāne. He found the first woman, Marikoriko, in a pond; she seduced him and he became the father of Hine-kau-ataata. By extension, a tiki is a large or small wooden, ...

: *''By My Brother's Side'' (2004) *''Game Day'' (2005) *''Teammates'' (2006) *''Kickoff!'' (2007) *''Go Long!'' (2008) *''Wild Card'' (2009) *''Red Zone'' (2010) *''Goal Line'' (2011)

Personal life

Ronde Barber lives in

Keystone, Florida Keystone is an unincorporated census-designated place in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. The Keystone area was first settled in the middle 1800s by the W.M. Mobley Family who migrated from Savannah, Georgia. The region has evolved f ...

. In Spring 2001 he married

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

American Claudia Patron.
/ref> She was a marketing and event planner. She is now with Diabetic Charitable Services. They have two daughters Yammile Rose and Justyce Rosina.

References

External links

Tampa Bay Buccaneers bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barber, Ronde 1975 births African-American players of American football American color commentators American football cornerbacks American football safeties American identical twins Living people National Conference Pro Bowl players National Football League announcers People with epilepsy Players of American football from Virginia Sportspeople from Roanoke, Virginia Tampa Bay Buccaneers announcers Tampa Bay Buccaneers players American twins Twin sportspeople Virginia Cavaliers football players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople Ed Block Courage Award recipients