30 Surprising Facts About Darius Slay You Might Have Missed Before

Darius Slay, nicknamed “Big Play Slay,” is a three-time Pro Bowler, currently playing as the cornerback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). Known for his agile moves, the American footballer has several honors and accolades to his name. Apart from his football career, he is also a great dad of four children. Here are some really interesting facts about Slay that will make fans love him more:

"File:Darius Slay On January 1 2017.jpg" by Kevind810 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

1.  Slay is the only player in the NFL to accumulate five tackles, two interceptions and three pass defenses twice in the same season – 2017 season, since the year 2000.
2.  During the 2018 season, in the Week 14 game – 17-3 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, he returned an interception off of Josh Rosen, 67 yards for a touchdown, earning a NFC Defensive Player of the Week.
3.  He is the first Lions player with seven interceptions in a single season, since Glover Quin in the year 2014. He is also the first Lions cornerback to have achieved the feat since Bruce McNorton in the year 1983.
4.  He was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles on March 20, 2020, in exchange for a third-round and fifth round selection, in the 2020 NFL draft.
5.  On March 21, 2020, he signed a new three-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles worth $50 million, including the guaranteed $30 million.
6.  Darius Demetrius Slay Jr., was born on January 1, 1991 to Darius Slay Sr., and Stephanie Lowe in Brunswick, Georgia. He is the only child of his parents.
7.  His parents were just 14 and 13 years old respectively, when they had Darius. His grandmother Dorothy Walthour was the one who took care of him, while his parents stayed in school.
8.  Being only 14 years and 13 years apart with his father and mother, he claims that he had a great childhood, though not a normal one. He claims that his parents, especially his mother is his best friend, and he understood them more.
9.  Darius attended Brunswick High School and later moved to the Itawamba Community College before getting transferred to the Mississippi State University.
10.  He started his football career when he was in Brunswick High School, where he was a running back and defensive back. He finished the 2008 season with over 1300 yards, and 15 touchdowns.
11.  In his senior season, he was named All-State by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution at defensive back, and was also chosen for the Georgia North-South All-Star Game.
12.  He suffered a torn medial collateral ligament injury in his junior season, and ended it with just 336 yards and six touchdowns from the five games he had played.
13.  Apart from football, he also played basketball, and was an exceptional track and field athlete, with timings of 10.9 seconds in the 100 meters and 22 seconds in the 200 meters.
14.  Slay pursued the opportunity to change number from 24 to 2, as per the new NFL jersey rules, on May 1, 2021. Previously, he was wearing jersey number 24 in honor of Kobe Bryant, for the Philadelphia Eagles, as Rodney McLeod already wears #23.
15.  Following his graduation, he was ranked as the seventh-best cornerback prospect in the draft by Mike Mayock, NFL analyst, and was also ranked as the eighth best cornerback by NFLDraftScout.com.
16.  Slay played for head coach Dan Mullen's Mississippi State Bulldogs football team, and had 64 tackles, sic interceptions and two touchdowns in total in the 2011 and 2012 season.
17.  In the 2013 NFL Draft, he was the fifth cornerback to be drafted, when the Detroit Lions selected him in the second round as the 36th overall.
18.  He signed a four year contract with the Detroit Lions on May 13, 2013, worth $5.28 million, which included guaranteed $3.12 million and a signing bonus of $2.22 million.
19.  During the 2017 season, he started in all 16 games and recorded 60 combined tackles (54 solo), a career-high 26 pass deflections, and eight interceptions. In fact, he led the league in total interceptions as well as passes defended in the season.
20.  He signed a four year contract extension with the Detroit Lions on July 29, 2016, worth $48.15 million, in which $23.1 million was guaranteed and $14.5 million was the signing bonus.
21.  In the 2016 season, he suffered a hamstring injury during the Week 7 game against the Washington Redskins, following which he missed two games.
22.  Later, in the Week 15 game against the New York Giants, he sustained another hamstring injury, which led to him remaining inactive in the Week 16 game, finishing the season by playing only 13 games.
23.  During the 2019 season, in the week 2 game – 13-10 win against the Los Angeles Chargers, he recorded his first interception off Philip Rivers, for the season.
24.  Towards the end of the season, despite being named to his 3rd Pro Bowl, he claimed in an interview that he has lost respect for the head coach Matt Patricia, following a couple of rifts between them.
25.  He was given an overall grade of 80.6 by the Pro Football Focus in the 2017 season, ranking him 16th among all qualifying cornerbacks in the year 2017.
26.  During his high school, he was dating Jennifer Williams who was a guard with the women’s basketball team at Southwestern Oklahoma State University.
27.  His girlfriend was pregnant with their first child, when he was just 15 years old, a freshman at Brunswick High School. His mother Lowe supported him, allowing both him and his girlfriend to continue study.
28.  The couple got married on June 17, 2018, in Brunswick, Georgia. They have been blessed with four kids – three sons – Darion, Demetrius Darius and Trenton, and a daughter.
29.  His five combined tackles, three pass deflections, and two interceptions off of Mitchell Trubisky in the Lions’ 20-10 victory over the Chicago Bears, earned him the NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
30.  Slay recorded his very first interception as an Eagle, off a pass thrown by Andy Dalton, in the week 16 game – 37-17 loss against Dallas Cowboys, during the 2020 season.
31.  Darius Slay Net Worth: $25 Million