Gerald Wayne Martin (born October 26, 1965) is an American former professional

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 ...

player who was a

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 eleven seasons with 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 ...

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) from 1989 to 1999. 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 ...

for the

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas student body voted to change the name of the school mascot (ori ...

Early life

In high school at Cross County High, Martin led his team to an undefeated record as a Senior.

College

He attended the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

and finished his career with 37 TFL and 25.5 sacks. His TFL (Tackles For Loss) rank 3rd and his sacks rank 1st in school history. Martin was a first-team All-Southwest Conference selection in 1988, as well as an All-American, anchoring the Razorbacks defense that helped win the 1988 SWC championship, finishing 10-2 on the season.

Professional career

He was selected by the Saints in the first round of the 1989 NFL draft. Very athletic with great length and solid strength at the point of attack, Martin proved to be a fixture on the Saints defensive front. An ironman, Martin only missed 1 game in 11 seasons. He started 144 straight games. Martin amassed a total of 82.5

quarterback sacks In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in the ...

, which currently stands as the 3rd most career sacks with the Saints behind current star Defensive End

Cameron Jordan Cameron Tyler Jordan (born July 10, 1989) is an American football defensive end for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at California, and was drafted by the Saints in the first round of ...

and linebacker teammate

Rickey Jackson Rickey Anderson Jackson (born March 20, 1958) is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the New Orleans Saints (1981–1993) and the San Francisco 49ers (1994–1995). He led the team's Dome Pa ...

. Martin was inducted into the "New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame" in 2003 with

Jim Dombrowski James Matthew Dombrowski (born October 19, 1963) is a former American college and professional football player who was a guard and offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons. Dombrowski played college football for ...

. Martin wore uniform number 93. Martin, known as being quiet and reserved, missed the Pro Bowl after the 1992 season having racked up 15.5 sacks. Martin led the NFC in sacks in 1995. Martin earned $22.8 million during his 11 seasons with the Saints. Martin was able to produce four consecutive 10+ sack seasons. He reached that milestone during the 1994-1997 seasons, respectively. After another uncharacteristic subpar 1999-2000 season totaling under 7 sacks consecutive seasons (1998-1999), (1999-2000), he was asked to take a pay cut by a new Saints staff headed by coach

Jim Haslett James Donald Haslett (born December 9, 1955) is an American football coach and former linebacker who is the head coach of the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL. He played college football for the IUP Crimson Hawks before being drafted by the Bu ...

. Martin retired shortly thereafter.

Personal life

Martin's son, Wayne Martin Jr. won the 2011 Florida High School Coaches Association 2A player of the year as a senior at Providence School of Jacksonville. Wayne Jr. went on to accept a full basketball scholarship to UCF, where he played for one season before transferring to

Southeast Missouri State University Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) is a public university in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. In addition to the main campus, the university has four regional campuses offering full degree programs and a secondary campus housing the Holland Col ...

in 2012. He was dismissed from the team for violating team rules in 2013. Martin's younger brother, Jeff Martin, was drafted by the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

in the second round of the 1989 NBA Draft. Two months prior, the elder Martin was selected in the 1989 NFL Draft.

References

1965 births Living people All-American college football players American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Arkansas Razorbacks football players National Conference Pro Bowl players New Orleans Saints players People from Forrest City, Arkansas People from Cherry Valley, Arkansas Players of American football from Arkansas {{defensive-lineman-1960s-stub