Joe Burrow
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Joe Burrow (born December 10, 1996, Ames, Iowa, U.S.) is an elite National Football League (NFL) quarterback, known for his cool demeanor and accurate passing. He was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals as the number one pick in the 2020 NFL draft, and he led the team to its first Super Bowl appearance (2022) in more than 30 years. Off the field, Burrow attracted attention for his fashion sense.
Early life
Burrow grew up in Athens, Ohio. His father, Jimmy Burrow, is a former NFL player who was the defensive coordinator at Ohio University, and his mother, Robin Burrow, was an elementary school principal. Joe Burrow has two elder brothers, both of whom played gridiron football at the University of Nebraska.
From a young age, Burrow was into sports and showed a competitive streak. When he first started playing football, he wanted to be a running back or wide receiver. However, he gravitated to quarterback after realizing that playing the position would give him the most influence on the game. As a senior in 2014, he led Athens High School to the state championship game. Although the school lost, 56–52, Burrow displayed the cool confidence and passing accuracy for which he would become known. He was also a standout point guard on the high-school basketball team.
Collegiate career: OSU and LSU
Burrow went on to play at the Ohio State University (OSU), but he saw little playing time as a backup quarterback. In 2018 he graduated from OSU and then transferred to Louisiana State University (LSU). Burrow was decent but not spectacular in his first year there. As a senior, however, Burrow had a breakout season. In a game against the University of Texas, he threw for 471 yards—along with four touchdowns—as LSU won, 45–38. Another highlight came against powerhouse University of Alabama, which had beaten LSU eight straight times. Burrow led LSU to a 46–41 win by completing 31 of 39 passes for 393 yards and three touchdowns.
After the end of the regular season, Burrow won the Heisman Trophy, earning first-place votes on a record 90.7 percent of all ballots. In his acceptance speech, he discussed his Appalachian roots and the struggles that people who live there face. “I’m up here for all those kids in Athens and Athens county that go home to not a lot of food on the table, hungry after school,” he said. People donated more than $500,000 to a county food pantry after Burrow’s speech, more than quintupling the pantry’s annual budget.
Burrow and LSU then competed in the College Football Playoff. The team was ranked number one, and it easily defeated the University of Oklahoma to win its semifinal game. In the championship against Clemson University, Burrow had a record-setting performance, throwing for 463 yards and five touchdowns. He also rushed for one touchdown. LSU won, 42–25, and Burrow was named the game’s best offensive player.
NFL: Cincinnati Bengals
Ahead of the 2020 NFL draft, Burrow was the consensus number one overall pick, and the Bengals selected him first. He made his debut later that year and was putting together a good rookie season, completing more than 65 percent of his passes, before he tore the anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in his left knee in November. Burrow subsequently had surgery and missed the rest of the season.
Burrow returned in 2021, and he emerged as a star, leading the NFL with a 70.4 completion percentage and passing for a franchise record 4,611 yards. Backed by his stellar play, the Bengals advanced to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1989. However, Cincinnati lost Super Bowl LVI to the Los Angeles Rams, 23–20, despite a solid performance by Burrow, who completed 22 of 33 passes for 263 yards and one touchdown—although he was sacked seven times. “Obviously it stings,” Burrow said. “But you know we had a great year, and it didn’t come out this last game like we wanted to, but I think we still have something to celebrate.”
In 2022 Burrow had another strong season, throwing for 4,475 yards and 35 touchdowns. He led the Bengals to a 12–4 record, and the team again made the playoffs. However, Cincinnati lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, 23–20, in the American Football Conference championship game. Burrow struggled early in the 2023 season due to a calf injury, though he later hit his stride. However, in November he suffered a season-ending wrist injury.
Fashion icon
Burrow also made a statement off the field with an eclectic sense of style that ranged from tailored suits to clothing inspired by the TV show SpongeBob SquarePants. Considered by many to be a fashion icon, Burrow’s pregame outfits were the subject of news articles and social media posts, and some have gone viral, including a floral-print suit he wore before a game in 2022.