Matt Birk
Matt Birk was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States on July 23rd, 1976 and is the Football Player. At the age of 47, Matt Birk biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 47 years old, Matt Birk has this physical status:
Early career
Birk attended Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, Minnesota, and was a letterman and standout in football, basketball, and track and field. He was an All-St. Paul Conference honoree, an Academic All-State honoree, and an All-State honoree in both football and basketball. Birk graduated from Cretin-Derham in 1994.
Birk attended Harvard University to play college football for the Harvard Crimson. He attained All-Ivy League, All-New England and Division I-AA All-Eastern College Athletic Conference first-team football honors. Birk graduated from Harvard University in 1998 with a degree in economics.
Professional football career
Ranked as the No. 16 offensive tackle available, Birk was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the sixth round with the 173rd overall pick of the 1998 NFL Draft. He was described by Sports Illustrated as "maybe the best Ivy League prospect to come along in several years", who "could be a nice developmental type pick".
During his first two seasons with the Vikings, he appeared in 22 games as a backup offensive lineman. In 2000, he took over the starting center position for the Vikings, starting all 16 games and was named to his first Pro Bowl team. Birk started every game for the Vikings at center from 2000 to 2003.
In 2004, Birk missed the last four games of the season due to surgery to treat a sports hernia. He missed the entire 2005 season with a hip injury that required surgery.
Birk returned to form in 2006, anchoring the Vikings offensive line from the center spot and earning his fifth career Pro Bowl selection. In 2007, Birk was named Minnesota Vikings Man of the Year for the sixth year in a row. He also earned his sixth Pro Bowl selection, tying Mick Tingelhoff for most Pro Bowl appearances by a Vikings center.
In 2010 Minnesota Vikings season, the 50th anniversary of the Minnesota Vikings, he was ranked by the team as one of their 50 greatest players.
He returned to the Vikings’ home stadium, the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, for the team's final game in the stadium before its demolition for the construction of U.S. Bank Stadium. The team named him honorary captain for the finale game.
In rankings since his career with the Vikings, he has been ranked as one of the team's greatest players.
An unrestricted free agent in the 2009 offseason, Birk signed a three-year, $12 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens on March 4. The deal included $6 million guaranteed.
In March 2012, Birk signed a new three-year deal with the Ravens. He won his first career championship during Super Bowl XLVII against the San Francisco 49ers. Birk announced his retirement on February 22, 2013.
He finished his career with the Ravens with two fumble recoveries and no fumbles.
Post-NFL career
Birk was briefly the NFL director of football development. In 2019, he co-founded (with Tom Bengtson) a private Catholic high school, Unity Catholic High School, in his hometown of Burnsville, Minnesota. He has also been involved in politics in the Minnesota Republican Party.
Birk, who has had three concussions since high school, announced in February 2013 his intentions to donate his brain to the Boston University School of Medicine for research into chronic traumatic encephalopathy.