30 Unbelievable Facts About Sam Bradford That You Probably Didn't Know

15 May 2019, 12:01 pm EDT By Ruby Karnick

Sam Bradford, who is currently a free agent, played in the National Football League (NFL) for the St. Louis Rams, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, and Arizona Cardinals. Here are some facts about the American football quarterback:

He is the descent of Native American, was born Samuel Jacob Bradford on November 08, 1987, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to Martha and Kent Bradford. His mother was a physical education teacher and his father is in to insurance business.
Bradford attended Putnam City North High School in Oklahoma City, where he was standout athlete in basketball, golf, baseball, hockey and football.
He gave-up baseball in freshman year but continued to excel in basketball at Division-1 level, averaging 18.6 points, and 10.5 rebounds per game as a senior.
Football was his favorite sport and he earned the All-City honors as a junior quarterback by ‘The Oklahoman.’ In his senior year he threw for 2,029 yards in 12 games with 17 touchdowns to earn a place in the ‘Oklahoma Coaches Association All-State Team and also made it ‘The Oklahoman’ All-State Second team.
As a three star recruit out of high school from class of 2006, he received scholarship from University of Oklahoma and played for Oklahoma Sooners Football team. He was redshirted as a freshman in 2006.
In 2007, he made his debut for Sooners, against University of North Texas and completed the game with 21 of 23 attempts for 363 yards and three touchdowns, breaking the school record for passing yards in a half, held by his coach Josh Heupelwith 350.
Bradford set a new NCAA freshman record with his 30th touchdown pass on November 24, 2007 against Oklahoma State Cowboys. He completed 237 of 341 for 3,121 passing yards with 36 touchdowns and 8 interceptions as freshman to lead Sooners to Big-12 Championship.
As a sophomore he was selected as the 74th winner of the Heisman Memorial Trophy as the Most Outstanding College Football Player for 2008. He is the second sophomore and fifth University of Oklahoma player to capture the trophy. He is also the recipient of ‘Davey O’Brien Award.’
He completed the 2008 season recording 328 of 483 attempts for 4, 721 passing yards with 50 touchdown pass and 8 interceptions to be voted ‘Associated Press College Football Player of the Year.’ This was one of the best seasons by a quarterback.
His decision to forego 2009 NFL Draft for his junior season Oklahoma, was short lived. He suffered a third degree AC joint sprain in the opening game of the season and underwent season ending surgery. He ended his collegiate career with 67.6 passing percentage for 8,043 yards and 88 touchdowns in 31 games.

With a score of 36 in ‘Wonderlic’ test, Bradford was selected as the first overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft,on April 22, 2010, by the St. Louis Rams and chose jersey No. 8 in honor of Troy Aikman.
He signed a six-year, $78 million deal whichhas a $50 million of guarantees and has a maximum value of $86 million to make it the largest ever contract for an NFL rookie.
Bradford made his NFL debut on September 12, 2010, in the season opener as a starting quarterback against Arizona Cardinals, and completed 32 of 55 passes for 253 yards, with 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions for a losing cause.
On November 28, 2010, in the game against Broncos, he became the first rookie in NFL history to pass for at least 300 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions during a road victory. He is the first rookie quarterback to win two consecutive ‘Offensive Rookie of the Month’ awards.
Bradford is third rookie quarterback to start all 16 regular season games and surpassed Peyton Manning’s record for completion and attempts passes. He ended the 2010 season completing 354 of 590 attempts for 3,512 passing yards with 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
A high ankle sprain bothered Bradford for the majority of the year as a result he played only in 10 games and finished with 2, 164 passing yards, with 6 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. With the 2-14 record for 2011, St. Louis Rams experienced a dismal year.
Bradford displayed strong game and finished the 2012 season with 59.5 completion percentages for 3,072 yards with 21 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 16 games to help Ram register 7-8-1 for the season.
Bradford suffered an injury during a preseason game against Browns. An MRI disclosed he tore the ACL in his left knee after being sacked and he missed the entire 2014 season.
On March 10, 2015, he was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles for Nick Foles. He made his debut for Eagle on September 14, against Falcons and completed 36 of 52 passes for a touchdown and two interceptions.
Bradford had lackluster performance at the beginning of 2015 season followed by left shoulder injury as well as a concussion but coach Chip Kelly did not bench him. In Week 9, he threw a game winning touchdown in overtime to Jordan Matthews in the game against Cowboys.

He ended the 2015 season with 65 passing percentage for 3,725 yards with 19 touchdown and 14 interceptions. On March 1, 2016, Bradford signed a two-year, $36 million contract extension.
Bradford was upset when Eagle traded with the Cleveland Browns for the No.2 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft to pick a new quarterback. He did not attend the off-season activities and wanted to be traded. On September 03, 2016, Bradford was traded to the Minnesota Vikings.
He started for Vikings in week 2 against the Green Bay Packers and finished the game completing 22 of 31 passes for 286 yards with two touchdowns. He received high praise from the media, with many calling his performance as one of the best game of his career.
Bradford started 15 games in 2016, completing 395 of 552 passes for 3,877 yards and 20 touchdowns with 5 interceptions. His completion percentage of 71.6 is a NFL single season record, before Drew Brees rewrote it in 2017.
After irregular start to the 2017 season due to injury, Bradford underwent a knee scope putting his season jeopardy. He was placed on injured reserve until January 13, 2018 for the playoff games.
On March 16, 2018, he signed a two-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals worth around $20 million. After ineffective performance in the first two games, he was replaced by rookie Josh Rosen and ultimately was released on November 3, 2018.
Bradford is one-sixteenth Cherokee through his paternal great-great-grandmother, a full blooded Cherokee. He is an official citizen of Cherokee Nation and an inspiration to American Indian.
He is a born-again Christian and appeared in a short film of video testimonials from celebrities called ‘I Am Second,’ sharing his faith about Christianity.
Oklahoma City mayor Mick Cornett declares January 13 as ‘Sam Bradford Day’ in 2009. This proclamation is to recognize quarterback winning Heisman Trophy.
Bradford and Emma Lavy got engaged in March 2016 and they married on July 15, 2016. She graduated with a major in Communication from University of Arkansas, is also an avid golfer.