Michael Sam

At 34 years old, Michael Sam has this physical status:

College career

After being recruited by Craig Kuligowski, the team's defensive line coach, Sam accepted a scholarship from the University of Missouri (Mizzou), he accepted it. Kuligowski recruited other players near Hitchcock, which made him familiar with Sam. Sam attended the academy from 2009 to 2013. He starred for the Tigers, who were competing in the Big 12 Conference for the first time. In his first year as a redshirt freshman, he redshirted out for football, with seven tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, one intercept, and one blocked kick. Sam intercepted a tipped pass in his sophomore year as the Texas Tech Red Raiders defeated Mizzou bowling, which resulted in a win to make Mizzou bowl eligible. Mizzou was admitted to the Southeastern Conference in 2012 (SEC). Sam earned 3+1 sacks in nine of the team's games, the most notable of which was started in 9.

Sam was suspended with 11.5 quarterback sacks and 19 tackles as a senior in 2013. He dominated both categories and tied for the first time in Missouri in single-season sacks. Since receiving three sacks apiece in games against the Arkansas State Red Wolves and the Vanderbilt Commodores, he was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week in two weeks in a row. Sam was named SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year by the University of Alabama's C. J. Mosley, and a first-team all-SEC pick after the season.

Sam was selected by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, Associated Press, Sporting News, the American Football Coaches Association, and the Football Writers Association of America, as a first-team All-American. He was also selected a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award, the Hendricks Award, and the Lombardi Award. Missouri defeated the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the 2014 Cotton Bowl Classic, in which Sam forced a fumble that was returned for a touchdown.

Sam has had 123 tackles, including 36 for loss, 21 sacks, six forcible fumbles, and two intercepted passes during his college career. In December 2013, he graduated from Missouri. He played in the 2014 Senior Bowl, but was too young to play as a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). Sam was unemployed at his first job.

Professional career

Sam was projected as a third- or fourth-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, according to early reports. His participation in the NFL Scouting Combine in February 2014 was seen as disappointing, which raised concerns about whether he would be included in the draft. He was considered too young to play defensively, and too slow to play outside the linebacker. He showed improvement during a public workout a month later, but his pre-draft rankings ranged from 12th to 25th among defensive ends. 33 defensive ends were chosen overall, with 23 chosen in the final four rounds.

Sam was drafted in the seventh round by the St. Louis Rams, the 249th out of 256 players selected in the 2014 draft. He was the first openly gay NFL player to be drafted into the league. President Barack Obama congratulated Michael Sam, the Rams, and the NFL for taking an important step forward in our Nation's journey today," and said that "f]rom the playing field to the corporate boardroom, LGBT Americans have shown every day that you should be judged by what you do and not who you are." The St. Louis Rams' jerseys containing his name became the second best-selling rookie jerseys at the NFL's website behind Cleveland Browns quarterback (and Heisman Trophy winner) Johnny Manziel. Sam's jersey debuted fifth in terms of sales among all NFL players during the period from April 1 to July 17.

Sam made his professional debut on August 8, 2014 against the New Orleans Saints in the first preseason game, where he made one tackle against quarterback Ryan Griffin. Sam fired Matt Flynn during his first professional dismissal against the Green Bay Packers in their second preseason game. Sam sacked Manziel in preseason game 3 against the Cleveland Browns. Sam had 11 tackles and three sacks, including a team-leading 6 tackles in the final game. "I think he can play in this league," Rams coach Jeff Fisher said two days before excluding him from the roster. On August 30, St. Louis released Sam as part of a last-round cut to bring their roster to the league-mandated 53 players before the regular season. The Rams, who had nine defensive linemen, decided against Sam over Ethan Westbrooks, an undrafted rookie. Although their statistics were similar, Westbrooks gave the opportunity to play all four defensive line positions, while Sam was strictly focused on being a left defensive end. Out of the 41 picks in the seventh round of the 2014 draft, only 22 made initial 53-man rosters. St. Louis did not add Sam to their practice squad after he cleared waivers in order to add depth at other positions. Many believe Sam was suspended from football due to an underlying issue of homophobia in American football.

Sam was activated to the Dallas Cowboys' practice squad on September 3, 2014. Sam was waived by the Cowboys on October 21 to make room for linebacker Troy Davis.

Sam ran in the first NFL Veteran Combine, clocking 4.99 seconds in the 40-yard dash.

Sam signed a two-year deal with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL on May 22, 2015. He became the first openly gay player in the league's history.

Sam was allowed to leave camp for "personal reasons" to return home to Texas on June 12 and was placed on the suspended list a day before the Alouettes' first preseason game, but was not able to return home to Texas. His reason for his resignation has never been announced. Sam had returned to Montreal on June 26 and will resume training with the team on June 30. He made his CFL debut against the Ottawa Redblacks on August 7, 2015, becoming the first publicly gay player to play in a CFL regular season game after being sitting out the team's first five games. He did not have a tackle in the game. Sam has postponed the next game after the club announced that he had a sore back. After a 12-month absence that he characterized as "difficult," he left the team the next day, citing problems with his mental stability. He was also placed on Montreal's suspended list. Sam told radio host Dan Patrick on his show that he never intended to play in the CFL to begin with after leaving Montreal. "It was a good call to go to the CFL in the first place." I never set out to go to the CFL, but I did and committed to going."

Sam announced on Twitter on August 14, 2015, that he was stepping away from professional football due to mental health issues. For seven years, he was out of football. He spoke at the time about his time as an author and motivational speaker. After Sam's signing with the Barcelona Dragons in the European League of Football was revealed in 2022, it was announced that he would return to the field.

Sam had been hired as the assistant defensive line coach for the Barcelona Dragons of the European League of Football on April 10, 2022.

Sam had been signed as a player after a roster spot was open up on June 1, the team announced. In the team's first game on June 5, he played as a defensive lineman.

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