Jerry’s official biography

"Today I will do what others won't, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can't"

 

Hall of Fame wide receiver and three-time Super Bowl champion Jerry Rice is widelyregarded as the best wide receiver to ever play in the National Football League, andarguably the greatest player of all time. During his 15-year career with the San Francisco49ers, Rice won three Super Bowls (Super Bowl XXIII (’88), Super Bowl XXIV (’89) and SBXXIX (’94)) and one Super Bowl MVP. He enjoyed three seasons with the Oakland Raiders,including a Super Bowl appearance and one season with the Seattle Seahawks beforeretiring in 2005. Rice was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in January 2010, his firstyear of eligibility.

 

Rice’s meticulous preparation and work ethic during his 20-year NFL career becamelegendary. He holds 36 NFL records – a record in itself. Has scored the most touchdowns in3 NFL history (208) and holds virtually every significant career receiving record, includingreceptions (1,549), yards receiving (22,895), all-purpose yards (23,546), touchdownreceptions (197) and consecutive games with at least one catch (274).

 

After his retirement, Rice’s celebrity has grown beyond the football field. He finished secondin the second season of the ABC hit-reality show Dancing with the Stars and has appearedon NBC’s Deal or No Deal and Law and Order SVU, FOX’s Don’t Forget the Lyrics, CBS’s TheClass, CW’s The Game and One Tree Hill, Spike TV’s Pros vs. Joes, ABC’s American Inventorand The Biggest Loser. Rice also previously co-hosted “Sports Sundays” with Raj Mathai onthe San Jose NBC local affiliate. He is currently in a multi-year marketing contract with VanHeusen and part of his endorsement includes an International Advertising campaign.

 

Born in Crawford, Mississippi, Rice did not start playing football until he was a sophomore inhigh school. Despite becoming an All-State player, Rice was not recruited by many majorcollege football programs and attended Mississippi Valley State University, a Division I-AAschool. As a senior, he broke NCAA records for receptions, yards and touchdowns andacquired the nickname “World” because there wasn’t a ball in the world he couldn’t catch.MVSU later renamed its football stadium Rice-Totten Stadium in honor of Rice andquarterback Willie Totten. He was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006.

 

In 1985, Rice caught the eye of future 49ers Hall of Fame head coach Bill Walsh who draftedhim with the 16th overall pick in the 1985 draft. In only his second season, Rice set the NFLrecord for touchdown receptions with 22 – a feat even more significant because the seasonwas shortened to 12 games because of the players’ strike. By the late 1980s, Rice hadbecome one of the biggest receiving threats in the NFL, teaming with Hall of Famequarterbacks Joe Montana and Steve Young to win three championships. After leaving the49ers, Rice continued to excel, having his 13th and 14th 1,000-yard receiving seasons andscoring his 200th TD in 2002 with Oakland.

 

During his career, Rice was selected to the Pro Bowl a record 13 times, won the NFL MostValuable Player Award in 1987 and was Super Bowl MVP in Super Bowl XXIII. In 1999, hewas ranked No. 2 in The Sporting News’ list of 100 Greatest Football Players – the highestrankedactive player and receiver – and in 2010, was voted the No. 1 player in the NFLNetwork's The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players.

 

Rice resides in the SanFrancisco Bay Area and has four children.