Travis Frederick (born March 18, 1991) is an American former professional football player who spent his entire seven-year career as a

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 ...

for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

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 for the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin). They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level ( Football Bowl Subdivis ...

and was selected 31st overall by the Cowboys in the first round of the

2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall ...

. In his time as a Cowboy he was elected to five

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 ...

s and he was an

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 t ...

in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Frederick is now the co-founder &

chief operating officer A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the " C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if ...

of the

tabletop role-playing game A tabletop role-playing game (typically abbreviated as TRPG or TTRPG), also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a form of role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech. Participa ...

company

Demiplane The planes of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' roleplaying game constitute the multiverse in which the game takes place. Each plane is a universe with its own rules with regard to gravity, geography, magic and morality. There have been various offi ...

Early years

A native of Sharon, Wisconsin, Frederick attended

Big Foot High School Big Foot High School (BFHS) is a comprehensive four-year public high school located in Wisconsin's South Central Walworth County in the Village of Walworth. A union high school, BFHS operates as a grade 9-12 district with students coming from f ...

Walworth, Wisconsin Walworth is a village in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,759 at the 2020 census. The village is located within the Town of Walworth. Geography Walworth is located at (42.531825, −88.593227). According to t ...

, where he was an all-state two-way lineman. He helped his

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

team to second place in the 2008 WIAA Division 4 state playoffs. Frederick was also on Big Foot's track team. He finished second in the shot put at the 2008 'BDN' Invite, with a throw of . He took silver in the

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by th ...

at the 2008 WIAA Sectional Championships, with a throw of .

Recruiting

Regarded as a three-star recruit by

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 ...

, Frederick was ranked as the No. 83 offensive tackle prospect in his class.

College career

Frederick attended the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

, and played for the

Wisconsin Badgers football The Wisconsin Badgers football program represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the sport of American football. Wisconsin competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the W ...

team from 2009 to 2012. After graduating high school early to participate in spring practice, Frederick became the first

true freshman Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in Badgers history to start a season-opening game on the offensive line, when he lined up at

against

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by t ...

. An ankle injury in week 2 knocked him out of the starting lineup, but he returned for the final two games, at left guard, after center

Peter Konz Peter Konz (born June 9, 1989) is a former American football guard. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He played college football at Wisconsin. Early years Konz attended Neenah High School in Neenah, ...

was sidelined (blood clots) and John Moffitt was moved to center. For the season, he played in five games, starting four (two at center and two at left guard). In order to preserve a year of Frederick's

NCAA eligibility The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

, Wisconsin coaching staff decided to

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after ...

him in 2010. In his redshirt sophomore season, Frederick replaced John Moffitt, starting 11 of 13 games at left guard. For two games, he had to substitute for Peter Konz at center. Following Konz's departure for the 2012 NFL Draft, Frederick was moved to center his junior season. He started all 13 games at center and was named a first-team All-American by ''

Pro Football Weekly ''Pro Football Weekly'' (sometimes shortened to ''PFW'') is an American sports magazine, founded in 1967, and website that covers the National Football League (NFL). It was owned by Pro Football Weekly LLC and headquartered in Riverwoods, Illinoi ...

''.

Professional career

Considered the best center in his class by Mel Kiper Jr. of

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

, Frederick decided to enter the

as an underclassman. He was projected to be a second- to third-round selection. At the NFL Combine, Frederick ran a 5.58 in 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 h ...

, second-slowest among offensive lineman. He also posted a below-average 21 repetitions in the 225 lb bench press. In the

, the

traded down in the first round with 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 exchange for a third-round pick (used to draft

Terrance Williams Terrance Tyrone Williams (born September 8, 1989) is an American football wide receiver for the Zappers of Fan Controlled Football (FCF). He played college football at Baylor, where he earned All-American recognition, before being drafted b ...

). In the first round, the team selected Frederick after eight offensive linemen were drafted before him. This decision caused a stir in the media because it was not only seen as a reach, but the trade was also criticized for bringing poor compensation after moving down 13 positions. Frederick was named a starter from the first day of Organized Team Activities in the preseason, replacing

Phil Costa Phillip John Costa (born 24 July 1949) is an Australian politician. He was a Labor Party member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 2007 until 2011, representing the electorate of Wollondilly. He served as Minister for Water and M ...

, who had been the starter in the previous two years. He became the first rookie in franchise history to start every game at

and was selected to the NFL All-Rookie team. The next year, he continued his development, by anchoring what was arguably considered as the best

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numb ...

in the league and was also named to his first

. In 2015, he had to work with four different starting quarterbacks with varying degrees of knowledge of the team's offense, which required him to make more protection calls. He was named to his second

. On August 13, 2016, Frederick signed a six-year, $56.4 million contract extension with the Cowboys, making him the highest-paid center in the league. Before the start of the 2016 season, Frederick was named one of the five team captains. That year, Frederick helped pave the way for rookie running back

Ezekiel Elliott Ezekiel Elijah Elliott (born July 22, 1995) is an American football running back for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State, where he earned second-team All-America honors in 2015. Ell ...

to the NFL rushing yards leader and his first Pro Bowl while protecting rookie quarterback

Dak Prescott Rayne Dakota Prescott (born July 29, 1993) is an American football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Mississippi State, where he twice received first-team All- SEC honors, a ...

to his first Pro Bowl as well. He was named to his third straight

and was named First-team

, both honors being shared with fellow Cowboy offensive linemen

Tyron Smith Tyron Jerrar Smith (born December 12, 1990) is an American football offensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at USC where he won the Morris Trophy, recognizing the best offensive ...

and

Zack Martin Zachary Edward Martin (born November 20, 1990) is an American football offensive guard for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Notre Dame and was drafted 16th overall by the Cowboys in the ...

. He was also ranked 87th on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017 as the only center in the list. On December 19, 2017, Frederick was named to his fourth straight Pro Bowl alongside tackle Tyron Smith and guard Zack Martin for the second straight year. On September 3, 2018, Frederick was placed on injured reserve to start the 2018 season after being diagnosed with

Guillain–Barré syndrome Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rapid-onset muscle weakness caused by the immune system damaging the peripheral nervous system. Typically, both sides of the body are involved, and the initial symptoms are changes in sensation or pain oft ...

on August 22. He was inactive for the first four games before inevitably being placed on the reserve/non-football illness list on October 6, 2018. Frederick was named to his fifth

in 2019. On March 23, 2020, Frederick announced his retirement from professional football.

Other endeavors

Frederick, with Peter Romenesko, co-founded

in 2019. Demiplane acts as a digital platform for various

tools such as game hosting and matchmaking along with digital compendiums for licensed games; the platform launched in 2020. Frederick is the company's

. On the change of direction in his career, Frederick said, "I really enjoy the challenge of something new".

Personal life

Frederick double majored in computer engineering and computer science at the University of Wisconsin. On August 22, 2018, Frederick was diagnosed with

. Frederick has two brothers, Tyler and Collin.

References

External links

Wisconsin Badgers bio

Dallas Cowboys bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick, Travis 1991 births Living people All-American college football players American football centers American football offensive guards Dallas Cowboys players National Conference Pro Bowl players People from Sharon, Wisconsin People with Guillain–Barré syndrome Players of American football from Wisconsin Sportspeople from the Milwaukee metropolitan area Unconferenced Pro Bowl players Wisconsin Badgers football players