Evan Bradley Mathis (born November 1, 1981) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a guard for 12 seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

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for the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the Na ...

, and was selected 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

in the third round of the

2005 NFL draft The 2005 NFL draft, the 70th in league history, took place on April 23 and 24, 2005 NFL season, 2005. The draft was held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City and was televised for the 26th consecutive year, with coverage on E ...

. Mathis also played for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

and

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) NFC West, West division. The ...

Early life

Mathis graduated from Homewood High School in Homewood, Alabama, where he played football and competed in track and wrestling. He was coached by Bob Newton in

. In

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

, Mathis won the 2000 Alabama 6A heavyweight championship. In

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

, Mathis competed in the

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

event (top-throw of 15.24 meters).

College career

Although he bulked up from to after signing with Alabama in February 2000, Mathis was

redshirted 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 ...

as a true freshman. In April 2001, he was named the Paul Crane Most Improved Offensive Lineman for Alabama along with tight end Theo Sanders. He competed with Alonzo Ephraim for the starting center job during spring practice in 2001, but lost out. Instead, he beat out Dante Ellington for the starting right tackle job, making his first start against

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. Mathis started four seasons on the offensive line for the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

Crimson Tide. His first three years he played tackle, before shifting to left guard as a senior. He started 47 consecutive games beginning in the 4th game of his redshirt freshman year. He helped anchor an offensive line that paved the way for the Crimson Tide to lead the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

in rushing yards per game in 2004.

Professional career

Miami Dolphins

Mathis was signed by the

on September 9, 2008, after Donald Thomas, their rookie starting right guard spot was put on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

. The Dolphins released him November 8 after playing seven games for them.

Cincinnati Bengals

Mathis played for the

from 2008 to 2010. He did not allow a

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during the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

Philadelphia Eagles

The

signed Mathis to a one-year contract on July 31, 2011. Immediately after the preseason, Mathis won the starting job at left guard for the 2011 season. He signed a five-year, $25.5 million contract with the Eagles on March 17, 2012. Pro Football Focus rated Mathis as the best guard in the NFL for the 2011, 2012, and 2013 season. In 2014, he was rated as the second best guard in the league despite missing seven games due to injury. Mathis was named to the USA Today All-Pro Team after the 2012 season. Ranked #6 overall in Pro Football Focus' Top 101 of 2012. In 2013, Pro Football Focus chose Mathis for its inaugural Bruce Matthews Award recognizing the NFL's best offensive lineman. He was voted First-team

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 2013 for his excellent performance with Philadelphia. Mathis was released by the team on June 11, 2015, after he held out of OTAs in search of a new contract.

Denver Broncos

On August 25, 2015, Mathis agreed to a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the

. On February 7, 2016, Mathis won his first career

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

when the Broncos beat the

24–10 in Super Bowl 50.

Arizona Cardinals

Mathis signed a one-year, $6 million contract with the

on March 16, 2016. He was placed on injured reserve on October 8, 2016, after suffering an ankle injury in Week 5 against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the 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 ...

. Mathis announced his retirement via

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on January 20, 2017.

Personal life

Mathis's uncle is Bob Baumhower, who played

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

for Alabama and the

. Mathis and previous wife, TikTok star Katie Mathis, coparent 3 daughters. Mathis married Megan Mathis on 11/11/22. On April 19, 2018, Mathis sold a 1952

Topps The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures trading cards and other collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of Baseball card, baseball and other sports and Non-sports tradi ...

Mickey Mantle Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Mick" and "the Commerce Comet", was an American professional baseball player who played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...

baseball card A baseball card is a type of trading card relating to baseball, usually printed on cardboard, silk, or plastic. In the 1950s, they came with a stick of gum and a limited number of cards. These cards feature one or more baseball players, teams, s ...

via Heritage Auctions for $2.88 million. At the time, it was the second-highest sale price for a

trading card A trading card (or collectible card) is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing (fictional or real) and a short description of the picture, along with other t ...

ever, behind only the T206 Honus Wagner. Mathis finished 35th at the 2019 PokerStars Players No Limit Hold’em Championship (PSPC). Mathis now runs a technology development company called mathisit (pronounced math is it).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mathis, Evan 1981 births Living people People from Homewood, Alabama Players of American football from Birmingham, Alabama American football offensive tackles American football offensive guards Alabama Crimson Tide football players Carolina Panthers players Miami Dolphins players Cincinnati Bengals players Philadelphia Eagles players Denver Broncos players Arizona Cardinals players Unconferenced Pro Bowl players