Ryan Kalil
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Ryan Joseph Kalil (born March 29, 1985) is an American film and television producer and former NFL center. 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
USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...
, where he was a member of two
national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...
teams, was named a first-team All-American, and won the 2006
Morris Trophy Coaches of the Pac-12 Conference bestow the following awards at the end of each football season. The conference was founded in its current form as the Athletic Association of Western Universities in 1959, but traces its roots to the Pacific Coast Co ...
. He was drafted by 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 ...
in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft, where he played for 12 seasons. He also played 1 season with 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 ...
. Kalil was selected to the
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 ...
in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2015.


Early life

Kalil was born Ryan Joseph Kalil in 1985 to Frank and Cheryl Kalil. His father,
Frank Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curr ...
, played football for 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 the
University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...
. He was drafted by 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 ...
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
in
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
and later played in the
United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...
until 1984. His mother, Cheryl (Van Cleave), was
Miss California The Miss California competition selects the representative for the state of California in the Miss America competition. The pageant began in Santa Cruz in 1924 and was held there in 1925. During the years 1926 through 1946 in years when the Mi ...
in 1981. He is of Lebanese and Mexican heritage and has two siblings. His brother, Matt, is a former starting offensive tackle at USC and was drafted fourth overall by 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 ...
in
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
. They were the third set of brothers to play on the same offensive line in the NFL when Matt joined Ryan on the Panthers in 2017 and the first set of brothers to do it in 24 years. Their sister Danielle sang the national anthem at the Vikings–Panthers game, which featured both her brothers, on October 13, 2013.


Early career


High school career

Born in
Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...
and raised in
Corona, California Corona (Spanish for "Crown") is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 157,136, up from 152,374 at the 2010 census. The cities of Norco and Riverside lie to the north and north ...
, Kalil went to
Servite High School Servite High School is a private, Catholic, all-male college preparatory high school operated by the Order of Friar Servants of Mary on a campus in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area in Anaheim, California, US. It was founded by the Servites in ...
in
Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
, where he was teammates with future
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
wide receiver/special teams and fellow NFL future All Pro
Matthew Slater Matthew Wilson Slater (born September 9, 1985) is an American football wide receiver for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at UCLA, where he received first-team All-Pac-10 honors, and was ...
.


College career

Kalil attended the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
, where he played for the
USC Trojans football The USC Trojans football program represents University of Southern California in the sport of American football. The Trojans compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Pac-12 Con ...
team. He was a 2005 ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
'' All-American, won the USC Trojans' Bob Chandler Award in 2005 and Courage Award in 2004, and was on the watch list for the
Lombardi Award The Rotary Lombardi Award is an award for college football in the United States. Awarded by the Rotary Club of Houston, Texas annually to the college football player "who best embodies the values and spirit of NFL's legendary coach Vince Lombar ...
. Kalil was on the official watch list for the
Rimington Trophy The Dave Rimington Trophy is awarded to the player considered to be the best American football center in college football. Dave Rimington was a center who played at the University of Nebraska from 1979 to 1982. A member of the National College F ...
for the top college football center and the
Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football interior lineman in the United States as adjudged by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named an All-Ame ...
watch list for the best lineman. He was named to the 2005 and 2006
Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...
coaches and
Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...
All-Pac-10 team First Team. He was a Pro Football Weekly All-American choice and a
Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...
second-team All American and
SI.com ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice ...
honorable mention All-American. Kalil was voted "lineman of the year" by his Trojans teammates and won the 2006
Morris Trophy Coaches of the Pac-12 Conference bestow the following awards at the end of each football season. The conference was founded in its current form as the Athletic Association of Western Universities in 1959, but traces its roots to the Pacific Coast Co ...
. He was invited to play in the Senior Bowl prior to the 2007 NFL Draft. In 2003, Kalil and the Trojans finished the regular season 11–1 and ranked No. 1 in the AP and coaches' polls. However, USC was left out of the BCS championship game after finishing third in the BCS behind Oklahoma and LSU. The Trojans went to the Rose Bowl and played University of Michigan. That 2003 season saw split national champions, as LSU won the BCS title, while USC was crowned champion by the AP. Kalil appeared in two BCS Championship Games: 2005’s win against the University of Oklahoma and 2006’s loss to University of Texas.


Professional football career

Kalil ran the
40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...
in 4.94 seconds at the 2007
NFL 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 ...
and
bench press The bench press, or chest press, is a weight training exercise in which the trainee presses a weight upwards while lying on a weight training bench. Although the bench press is a full-body exercise, the muscles primarily used are the pectorali ...
ed 225 pounds 34 times. His performances at the combine and the
Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...
impressed scouts and led many analysts to project he would be selected in the first or second round of the 2007 NFL Draft.


Carolina Panthers

Pre-draft predictions turned out to be correct, as Kalil was selected in the second round of the draft with the 59th pick by 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 was the first
center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...
to be selected in the 2007 draft and joined his teammate from the
USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ' ...
,
Dwayne Jarrett Dwayne Jarrett (born September 11, 1986) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons. He played college football for the University of Southern California (USC), and was recogniz ...
, who the Panthers also selected in the second round. In 2007, Kalil started three games at center. In 2008, Kalil was named the full-time starter at center. He started in all 12 games that he appeared, missing four games due to injury. In 2011, Kalil received a
franchise tag In the National Football League (NFL), the franchise tag is a designation a team may apply to a player scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. The tag binds the player to the team for one year if certain conditions are met. Each team has on ...
from 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 ...
. On August 19, 2011, the Panthers signed Kalil to a six-year $49 million deal, making him the highest paid center in NFL history. He was selected to the Pro Bowl as the starting center of the NFC team. On February 7, 2016, Kalil was part of the Panthers team that played in
Super Bowl 50 Super Bowl 50 was an American football game to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2015 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) cha ...
. In the game, the Panthers fell to the
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...
by a score of 24–10. It was announced on December 23, 2015 that Kalil was one of ten players on the Carolina Panthers voted into the
2016 Pro Bowl The 2016 Pro Bowl (branded as the 2016 Pro Bowl presented by USAA for sponsorship reasons) was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2015 season, which was played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii on January 31, 2016. As of 20 ...
, making it his fifth appearance. He could not play in the Pro Bowl due to the Panthers appearance in
Super Bowl 50 Super Bowl 50 was an American football game to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2015 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) cha ...
. For the 2015 season, PFF rated Kalil as the third-best run-blocking center in the NFL. He was ranked 79th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016. On June 6, 2016, Kalil signed a two-year extension with the Panthers. He had been dealing with a shoulder injury for several weeks before leaving the Week 11 game against 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 ...
. He was placed on injured reserve on November 29, 2016, ending his season. In 2017, Kalil started only six games after dealing with a neck injury for most of the season. On December 31, 2018, Kalil announced his retirement from the NFL after 12 seasons.


New York Jets

On August 1, 2019, Kalil came out of his brief retirement to sign a one-year contract with 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 ...
. He was placed on injured reserve on November 16, 2019.


In media


Film and television

Kalil has interests in the film industry, having made
claymation Clay animation or claymation, sometimes plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay. Tra ...
films as a child. He directed fellow USC-alumnus
Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 200 ...
on a football training spoof for the
NFL Network NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and NFL ...
and his short film, ''The Take Off'', which premiered at The 34th Annual
Santa Barbara International Film Festival The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is an eleven-day film festival held in Santa Barbara, California since 1986. The festival boasts screenings of over 200 feature films and shorts from different countries and regions. SBIFF al ...
on January 29, 2019. Kalil founded Mortal Media in 2016 with friend
Blake Griffin Blake Austin Griffin (born March 16, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Oklahoma Sooners, when he was named the consensu ...
. Kalil and Griffin have sold eight movie and television projects, five of which are in active development, most notably
Apple TV+ Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...
's ''
Hello Tomorrow! ''Hello Tomorrow!'' is an American science fiction comedy-drama television series that premiered on Apple TV+ on February 17, 2023. It stars Billy Crudup. Plot In a retrofuturistic world, a huckster named Jack Billings runs a small business of ...
'' and reboots of ''
White Men Can't Jump ''White Men Can't Jump'' is a 1992 American sports comedy film written and directed by Ron Shelton. It stars Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson as streetball hustlers. The film was released in the United States on March 27, 1992, by 20th Century ...
'' and Disney’s ''
The Rocketeer The Rocketeer is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books originally published by Pacific Comics. Created by writer/artist Dave Stevens, the character first appeared in 1982 and is an homage to the Saturday matinee serial heroes ...
''.


Books

In June 2016, ''
Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, with ...
'' announced he will serve as an
executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...
along with
Dwayne Johnson Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he was integral to the developm ...
producing
Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...
film "Son of Shaolin." Kalil financed production of the underlying graphic novel. Ryan Kalil, Shawn Kittelsen and Chris B. Murray created Savage Game, a Comixology Originals 60-page sci-fi graphic novel that is a high-tech version of The Island of Dr. Moreau. Kalil also co-wrote The Rookie Handbook with former Carolina offensive line teammates Jordan Gross and Geoff Hangartner. The Rookie Handbook is a humorous and insightful look at the life of an NFL rookie. It's designed to give a behind the scenes glimpse at life in the big leagues for the legions of NFL fans.


Podcast network and production company

In March 2022, Kalil, along with
Vince Vaughn Vincent Anthony Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American actor. Vaughn began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 comedy-drama film '' Swingers''. He has appeared in ...
and Greg Olsen, launched a podcast network and production company named Audiorama. The first podcast available from the network, called Youth, Inc., focuses on youth sports.


Personal life

Kalil resides in
Manhattan Beach, California Manhattan Beach is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast south of El Segundo, California, El Segundo, west of Hawthorne, California, Hawthorne and Redondo Beach, California, Red ...
, with his wife, Natalie, and their four children. Ryan started the ''Kalil Family Foundation'' with his wife, which works to greatly accelerate lupus research and improve life for people living with lupus. The foundation also supports pioneering solutions to end homelessness in the United States and abroad. Kalil was announced as one of the investors in an almost all-female group that was awarded a new franchise in the 
National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federatio ...
, the top level of women's sport in the U.S. The new team, since unveiled as 
Angel City FC Angel City Football Club is a National Women's Soccer League expansion team that began play in 2022. The team is based in Los Angeles, California, and was announced on July 21, 2020. The team has many high-profile owners, including Becky G, Natal ...
, is set to start play in 2022.Los Angeles’ NWSL team officially has a name: Angel City FC
at Los Angeles Times; by Kevin Baxter; published October 20, 2020; retrieved December 28, 2020


Notes


External links


Ryan Kalil
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 ...

Ryan Kalil
on
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

Carolina Panthers bio


at USCTrojans.com
Kalil and Will Ferrell
at
NFL.com 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 major ...

Panthers franchise center Ryan Kalil
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalil, Ryan 1985 births Living people American football centers American people of Lebanese descent American sportspeople of Mexican descent Carolina Panthers players National Conference Pro Bowl players New York Jets players Sportspeople from Corona, California Players of American football from Tucson, Arizona Unconferenced Pro Bowl players USC Trojans football players Players of American football from California Servite High School alumni Sportspeople of Lebanese descent Ed Block Courage Award recipients