| Age/Date of Birth: | 36 years old (January 6, 1987) |
|---|---|
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Ethnicity/Race: | Black |
| Nationality: | American-Cameroonian |
| Wife or Girlfriend: | Katya Leick |
| Parents: | Bernadette (née Lennon) Suh and Michael Suh |
| Net Worth: | $50 million |
The American football player Ndamukong Ngwa Suh, who is better known as just Ndamukong Suh, is one of the playmakers in the defensive position and arguably one of the League’s highest-paid. Playing a defensive tackle, Suh is not just an effective pass rusher, but also a player with vision and awareness in the run game. Physically, Suh could be awarded for his amazing height of 6 feet and 4 inches, as well as his outstanding upper-body strength which gives him an edge over others when it comes to wrapping up passers and blocking passing lanes.
Ndamukong Suh did not just become famous in his professional years. He was one of the best, both in high school and in college. He was even one of the most decorated players in college football history, thanks to his defensive skills. Among his list of awards include the Chuck Bednarik Award, Lombardi Award, AP Player of the Year, and five-time Pro Bowl, to mention a few. Despite his outstanding performances, Ndamukong Suh has received several criticisms from his fans and teammates mostly for his “nasty” attitudes and aggressive nature while hunting ball handlers. Here are more facts to know about the football nose tackle for the Los Angeles Rams.
Ndamukong Suh Developed Interest in Football In His Early Years
Born on January 6, 1987, in Portland, Oregon, Suh began his journey into football fame in Grant High School, his Portland-based high school where he was named 2004 Portland Interscholastic League Defensive Player of the Year, Class 4A first-team all-state selection, and where he was awarded the Parade magazine high school All-America honours, following his outstanding performance as a young player both in the offence and defence. Suh left his high school ranking 6th among defensive tackle prospects in the nation.
Moving to the University of Nebraska where he bagged a degree in construction management, the African-American also displayed his balling skills while playing for the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team for four years (2005 to 2009). He received his first college honours- the freshman All-Big 12 honours- in 2006, after playing in 14 games as a backup defensive lineman. He also made it in 2008, as his college’s first defensive lineman to lead the team in tackles since 1973 as well as the first interior defensive lineman to earn the First-team All-Big 12 honours since 1999. With his defensive skills, the Huskers’ defence was ranked first nationally in scoring defence.
Ndamukong Suh completed his college career in 2009 with 215 total tackles, 125 solo tackles, 90 assisted tackles, and 24 quarterback sacks with 41 hurries. He also left with more awards including the Chuck Bednarik Award, Bill Willis Trophy, Outland Trophy, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, and the Lombardi Award. He crowned it all up with the AP Player of Year award, making him the first defensive player to receive the award in its history.
Moving On to A Professional Career
Ndamukong Suh took the big step towards becoming a professional in 2010 after he was selected by the Detroit Lions as its second overall in the year’s NFL Draft. Suh signed a five-year contract worth $68 million with $40 million guaranteed, with the NFL franchise and as expected, he led in all rookies and all defensive tackles in sacks. In addition, he became the Lions’ first rookie to be picked as a Pro Bowl starter, since Barry Sanders. The same year, he received his first fine for his on-the-field behaviour- he was fined for wearing a facemask of Jake Delhomme, for using an opponent as leverage on a field goal, and for being unnecessarily rough on an opponent.
Suh kept up with his good games for the Detroit Lions until 2015 when he signed a six-year contract worth $114 million with almost $60 million guaranteed, with the Miami Dolphins. His contract with the Dolphins made news headlines as it earned him the recognition of the highest-paid defensive player in the history of the NFL, passing the likes of Houston Texans and J. J. Watt. Suh, however, played with the Dolphins from 2015 to 2017. His release followed, among other issues, the charges against him for being unnecessarily rough on Ryan Mallett, during a match against the Baltimore Ravens in the season’s Week 8.
As of March 26, 2018, Ndamukong Suh was with the Los Angeles Rams. He became the franchise player after signing a one-year contract. Towards the end of the season, Suh was yet again fined $20,054 for his horse-collar tackle against a player from his former club, the Lions. The defensive end has been playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers since 2019. It was in May of the said year that he made a one-year pact with the team. When the contract approached its end, he made another one-year deal; this was in March 2020.
All the Teams He Has Played for
- Grant Generals of Grant High School, Portland, Oregon
- Nebraska Cornhuskers of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (2005 – 2009)
- Detroit Lions (2010 – 2014)
- Miami Dolphins (2015 – 2017)
- Los Angeles Rams (2018)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2019 – Present)
Major Awards and Highlights of His Career
- 2-time First-team All-Big 12 – 2008 and 2009
- Unanimous All-American – 2009
- Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year – 2009
- Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year – 2009
- Heisman Trophy Finalist – 2009
- Chuck Bednarik Award – 2009
- AP Player of the Year – 2009
- Bronko Nagurski Trophy – 2009
- Outland Trophy – 2009
- Lombardi Award – 2009
- NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year – 2010
- NFL 2010s All-Decade Team
- 3-time First-team All-Pro – 2010, 2013, and 2014
- 5-time Pro Bowler – 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016
- 2-time Second-team All-Pro – 2012 and 2016
Breaking Down How Ndamukong Suh Made His $50 Million Net Worth
He Has Made Almost $156 Million from His NFL Salaries as of 2020
Ndamukong Suh earns quite a lot from his football career. In 2015, he was announced by Forbes as one of the highest-paid with an annual income of about $38.5 million. The American football nose tackle reportedly earned $138.72M over nine seasons with $19.1M being his earning for 2017. After signing a year contract with the Rams, Suh’s cap hit for 2018 rose to $14.5M.
Among other things, Suh’s NFL salaries are the biggest source of his wealth. He made history as the highest-paid defensive player of all-time in the league when he inked his six-year contract with the Dolphins in 2015. As stated earlier, the contract was worth $144 million, and attached to it was a $25 million signing bonus and a $59.9 million guarantee.
Shu’s Yearly Earnings Since He Joined NFL
- 2010 (Detroit Lions) – $3,100,000
- 2011 (Detroit Lions) – $25,784,706
- 2012 (Detroit Lions) – $10,375,000
- 2013 (Detroit Lions) – $12,275,000
- 2014 (Detroit Lions) – $12,680,451
- 2015 (Miami Dolphins) – $26,500,000
- 2016 (Miami Dolphins) – $13,500,000
- 2017 (Miami Dolphins) – $20,000,000
- 2018 (Los Angeles Rams) – $14,500,000
- 2019 (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) – $9,250,000
- 2020 (Tampa Bay Buccaneers – $8,000,000
The NFL Star Makes as Much as $400,000 Per Year from Endorsement Deals
Given the attainments of his career, Ndamukong became a very influential personality in sports and this had popular brands calling to have him promote their services and products. So in addition to his salaries, Suh makes good money from endorsement deals.
Being a remarkable player right from college, it is not surprising that the defensive end got to sign a deal with Nike Inc. before he joined the NFL in 2010. Apart from his deal with Nike which must be worth a good fortune, he also enjoys good pay from deals with other companies like Chrysler, Omaha Steaks, Subway, and Dick’s Sporting Goods, to mention a few.
Royalties from Merchandise
Similarly, he makes money in form of royalties from his jerseys sold to fans. What he makes through this is not known to the public but it isn’t as significant as what he has made from his salaries and endorsement deals
Major Sources of Ndamukong Suh’s Wealth
- Salaries from NFL career – $155,965,157 (as of 2020)
- Paychecks from endorsement deals – $400,000 yearly
- Royalties from merchandise
The Footballer Spends His Money on Charity, Real Estate, and Fancy Cars
Among his fleet of rides include Bentley Continental, Dodge, Mercedes Benz, and Ford Mustang.
Ndamukong Suh is one player who has refused to forget his background. Becoming a star athlete, he has made significant donations to the schools that prepared him for his professional career. Sometime in 2013, it circulated that he donated $250,000 to his high school in support of their quest to get a turf field.
He also donated a massive $2.6 million to the University of Nebraska. As it was reported, $600,000 from the amount was for creating an endowed scholarship for the UNL College of Engineering; he graduated from the institution with a degree in construction management in 2009. $2 million was for the Strength and Conditioning Program of Nebraska Athletics
Suh has also invested in real estate. He owns a six-bedroom mansion in Fort Lauderdale which is valued between $6.45 and $7.30 million. It is said that he acquired the property for $6.5 million in 2015. In 2019, he parted with $1.9 million to own a Birmingham condo.
Ndamukong Suh and His Wife Met in 2009 as Students of the University of Nebraska
- Name: Katya Leick
- Date of Birth: March 17, 1991
- Occupation: Instagram Influencer and Real Estate Agent
- Duration of Marriage: May 2020 – Present
Ndamukong Suh may be one of the most successful players in the NFL but much wasn’t known about his love life until it emerged that he has a girlfriend who goes by the name Katya Leick. Although the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive player had managed to keep his love life secret, Leick had on her Instagram handle announced their relationship, declaring herself “Suh’s girl”.
According to reports, Suh and Leick had been in a relationship for a couple of years. They reportedly met as students of the University of Nebraska in 2009. Even though Leick would later transfer to Kansas State University, they sustained their relationship over the years and became serious lovers during Suh’s playing years for the Dolphins. They eventually started living together in 2018.
They Got Married in May 2020 and are Expecting Twins
It was in May 2019 that Shu and Leick committed to spending the rest of their lives together. From what we gathered, they got engaged in France. The defensive end took to Instagram to share the news, proclaiming that he took his best friend to France and she became his fiancee.
The lovers didn’t have to wait for a long time to get married. They waited for only a year before they made things official in May 2020. As there are no pictures of the event littered across their social media pages, one can conclude it was a private affair. This was probably so because of the COVID-19 pandemic that necessitated the prohibition of social gathering.
Help us congratulate the newlyweds, @NdamukongSuh and @itskatyasuh! ♥️💍 pic.twitter.com/0bfPzSBu2U
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) May 27, 2020
Shu and Leick are already looking forward to expanding their family as the NFL star revealed in December 2020 that they are expecting twins in March 2021.
What Katya Leick Does for a Living
There is more to Leick than being Ndamukong Suh’s wife and the biggest supporter of the NFL player. Currently an Instagram influencer, Katya Leick played college basketball at Nebraska-Lincoln for two years and later for the Kansas State Women’s team which she captained.
Even though she was not able to transition into a professional athlete, Katya was able to put her Mass Communications and Journalism degree to good use as she worked as a news anchor for KSNT TV in Topeka, Kansas. She also worked several months for 5Church Atlanta as a sales and events coordinator.
The last job she held was as a real estate agent. First, she worked for Keller Williams Realty, Inc. and was then linked to Compass, another real estate company based in New York.
| Profile Summary | |
|---|---|
| First Name: | Ndamukong |
| Last Name: | Suh |
| Also Known As: | Ndamukong Ngwa Suh |
| Sex/Gender: | Male |
| Profession: | Professional football defensive end |
| Famous For: | His professional football career |
| Colleges/Universities Attended: | University of Nebraska |
| Educational Qualifications: | Construction management degree |
| Religion: | Not known |
| Birthday & Zodiac |
|
| Age/Date of Birth: | 36 years old (January 6, 1987) |
| Zodiac Sign: | Capricorn |
| Birth Place: | Portland, Oregon, United States |
| Nationality: | American-Cameroonian |
| Ethnicity/Race: | Black |
| Country of Residence: | USA |
| Physical Attributes |
|
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight: | 313 lb (142 kg) |
| Eye Colour: | Brown |
| Hair Color: | Black |
| Other Body Measurements: | Arm length- 33 1⁄2 in (0.85 m), Hand size- 10 1⁄4 in (0.26 m) |
| Relationships | |
| Marital Status: | Married |
| Spouse/Partner: | Katya Leick |
| Family and Relatives |
|
| Father: | Michael Suh |
| Mother: | Bernadette (née Lennon) Suh |
| Children: | Not known |
| Siblings: | Odette Lennon Ngum Suh (Sister) |
| Other Relatives: | Kameron Chatman (cousin), Ndamukong Suh (great-grandfather) |
| Net Worth | |
| Estimated Net Worth: | $50 million |
| Salary: | $13.5 Million |
| Source of Wealth: | His football career, endorsement deals |
