Joseph Cardona ( ; born April 16, 1992) 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 wi ...

long snapper In American football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a center on special teams whose duty is to snap the football over a longer distance, typically around 15 yards during punts, and 7–8 yards during field goals and extra point att ...

for the New England Patriots 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). A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Cardona is also an officer in the

U.S. Naval Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Se ...

holding the rank of Lieutenant. Cardona was drafted in the fifth round (166th overall) of the 2015 NFL draft. He played college football for

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

. He is only the fourth player designated as a long snapper ever to be drafted, and the second highest-drafted long snapper in NFL history, after Ryan Pontbriand. With the Patriots, he won

Super Bowl LI Super Bowl LI was an American football game played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, on February 5, 2017, to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2016 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New ...

and Super Bowl LIII.

Early life

Cardona grew up in El Cajon, California, the son of Patrick and Margaret Cardona, and is of Mexican heritage. Joe has two older siblings Arthur and Adrienne Hernandez, and one younger sister Sophia Cardona. He attended Granite Hills High School, lettering two years in football and four years in

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

, earning conference lacrosse MVP as a senior. He graduated in 2010.

College career

After high school, Cardona attended the Naval Academy Preparatory School in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

, for one year before enrolling in the Naval Academy, where he majored in economics. At Navy, he was a four-year starter in football as a long snapper, where he was not charged with a single bad snap. During his four years at Navy, the Midshipmen compiled a 30–21 record, including four wins over arch-rival

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, and played in three bowl games.

Professional career

On May 2, 2015, the New England Patriots selected Cardona in the fifth round (166th overall) of the 2015 NFL draft, making him the fourth pure long snapper to be drafted in NFL history (and the second drafted by the Patriots, after

Jake Ingram Jacob Ingram (born February 23, 1985) is a former American football long snapper. He played college football at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and was drafted by the New England Patriots in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL Draft as a center. E ...

). His Naval assignment was delayed until after the 2015 NFL season so that he would be able to play in the NFL. The Patriots officially signed Cardona to his rookie contract on June 4, 2015. The structure of his contract is unusual, reflecting the uncertainty of his availability in future seasons. The signing bonus of $100,000 is less than the expected bonus of about $190,000 expected for his draft slot, but he can earn $100,000 in roster bonuses if he is on the 53-man roster or an injury list at any point in 2015, 2016, and 2017 seasons. On Thursday, September 10, in the NFL's opening game of the 2015 season, Cardona made his official debut as a long snapper in the Patriots' 28–21 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. On May 13, 2016,

United States Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

Ray Mabus Raymond Edwin Mabus Jr. (; born October 11, 1948) is an American politician and lawyer. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 75th United States Secretary of the Navy from 2009 to 2017. Mabus previously served as the State Auditor ...

approved Cardona's request (and the request of

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 it ...

wide receiver Keenan Reynolds) to play in the NFL for the 2016 season. For the second consecutive season, Cardona played in all 16 games for the Patriots. He was part of both Patriots' playoff wins, and went on to play in

on February 5, 2017. He was a contributor to the Patriots as they defeated the Atlanta Falcons by a score of 34–28 in overtime. Cardona had an active role in the game on seven special teams plays. In 2017 Cardona was part of both Patriots' playoff wins, and went on to play in

Super Bowl LII Super Bowl LII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2017 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles defeated the American Football Conferen ...

on February 4, 2018. The Patriots failed to repeat as Super Bowl Champions after losing 41–33 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 play ...

. On June 14, 2018, Cardona signed a four-year contract extension with the Patriots. The Patriots reached Super Bowl LIII where they beat the Los Angeles Rams 13-3. On March 21, 2023, Cardona re-signed with the Patriots on another four-year contract extension worth $6.3 million, making him the highest-paid long snapper.

Military career

During his rookie season, Cardona spent his off days working a 24-hour shift as Command Duty Officer at the Naval Academy Preparatory School. On June 7, 2019, Cardona was promoted to lieutenant in a ceremony at Gillette Stadium. The ceremony took place the day after the 75th anniversary of D-Day, as well as the day of the Patriots' ring ceremony for their Super Bowl LIII win.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cardona, Joe 1992 births Living people American football long snappers American sportspeople of Mexican descent Navy Midshipmen football players New England Patriots players Players of American football from California Sportspeople from El Cajon, California Military personnel from California