Ndamukong Suh

Ndamukong Ngwa Suh is a defensive tackle who has played thirteen seasons in the NFL. Currently, Suh is a free agent after having last played for the Super Bowl LVII finalists, the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2022-23 season. At 36 years of age now, this may be the end of his NFL career. Suh has been one of the most dominant defenders in the history of the NFL, causing lots of problems for the opposing offense.

The former defender started his career with a bang, winning the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year after posting 10 sacks and 66 combined tackles. However, as his numbers suggest, his performance hasn’t been consistent throughout his career. In the initial part of his career, he brought a ton of aggression in his game which was evident from the number of penalties he used to receive.

Furthermore, he earned a reputation of being the ‘dirtiest player’ in the league and he was involved in a number of on-field violations resulting in several fines amounting to over $200,000. He was also on the receiving end of the other players due to his lack of sportsmanship in his early career. Things changed later on and Suh became much more docile as the years went by.

Ndamukong Suh personal information

Ndamukong Suh Early Life

Ndamukong Suh was born on January 6, 1987, in Portland, Oregon. He studied in Grant High School in Portland and sports was a huge part of his everyday routine. He played four sports in high school including football, soccer, basketball, and track and field.

During his youth, he was more interested and fascinated by soccer as that is the sport his father had taught him. Unfortunately, though, he was always too big to play the game and he would get penalized for fouls which he didn’t commit due to his size. Eventually, as he kept growing, he decided to focus his mind on gridiron football and was extremely pleased as he could hit people and not get penalized for it.

In school, Suh was a two-way lineman meaning he played both on offense and defense and to no surprise, he excelled in both positions. Towards the end of his high school playing days, he was ranked a four-star athlete and the number six defensive tackle in the country. With several offers from colleges to choose from, Ndamukong decided to attend the University of Nebraska to play college football on the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team.

The former Cornhusker had a dominating college performance from 2006 to 2009. Although he joined the University in 2005, he had to redshirt his year after just 2 games due to a knee injury. He steadily got better and better every passing year and in his final season, he received a boatload of awards, including the Big-12 Defensive Player of the Year, the Associated Press College Football Player of the Year, and many more. He was also a finalist for even more awards such as the Heisman Trophy, Walter Camp Award, and the Lott Trophy.

Ndamukong Suh Personal Life

Born to parents Michael and Bernadette Suh in 1987, Ndamukong was always a big child who loved sports. He has an older sister named Odette Lennon Ngum Suh, (Ngum Suh). It has been reported that he has three more sisters but there is no information supporting this and is for the most part false information. Suh has been married since 2020 to Katya Leick with whom he has twins.

Ndamukong Suh Family Background

Ndamukong Suh’s parents are Michael and Bernadette Suh. The family is supposedly a big one with the parents and their five children. Apparently, Ndamukong has four sisters but details of only one sister could be found. Both of his parents were born outside the States. Strangely even though Michael Suh is only 5 feet 8 inches in height, Nadamukong’s great-grandfather was very tall standing 7 feet 3 inches in height.

Ndamukong Suh Mother

Ndamukong Suh’s mother, Bernadette Suh was born in Spanish Town, Jamaica. However, she studied at Southern Oregon University and is a teacher by profession. She came to the United States and settled in Portland which is where she eventually met Michael Suh.

When Ndamukong started playing gridiron football in high school, it was an apprehensive moment for his parents as they were not too familiar with the sport. His mother went to the library and checked out many books that taught her a lot about the game. In the initial days, she used to worry a lot about her son seeing how physical gridiron football is, but over the period she has become more comfortable watching him play.

Ndamukong Suh Father

Ndamukong’s father Michael Suh is from Cameroon, but he played semi-professional soccer in Germany. He continued playing for the Cameroon national soccer team as well. He later moved to the United States and settled in Portland. Micahel Suh is a mechanical engineer and he was the one to introduce the game of soccer to his son at the age of three.

It was Michael’s dream to see his son play soccer as a professional, and when Ndamukong told him he wanted to play gridiron football as it was more suitable for him, Michael was a bit worried regarding the game’s physicality. The first few games in high school were a tense affair for Michael, but his son convinced him that American football was the way forward for him.

Ndamukong Suh Siblings

Ndamukong also has an older sister named Ngum Suh. She has been a huge support for Ndamukong and his overall career. When he first started playing the sport in high school and college, nobody in the family including the 6 foot 4 inch defensive tackle thought that he would actually become a professional player. But when he started noticing his rank and people started telling him he could make it as an NFL player, he requested his sister’s help in getting him there.

Since then his sister has been by his side and runs the Ndamukong Suh Family Foundation as the director of operations. She is also the one who handles all non-football-related work for her brother including his business ventures. In a way, she put her life on hold to help her brother achieve his dream.

Ngum herself is an athlete as she played soccer at Mississippi State and was a member of the Cameroon National Soccer Team for one year after she graduated. She holds Cameroon citizenship like her father and graduated with a bachelor's degree in biological sciences as well as another degree in clinical exercise physiology.

Ndamukong Suh Wife

Ndamukong is married to Katya Suh (born Leick) whom he met at the University of Nebraska. While he played for the Cornhuskers football team, Katya was a member of their basketball team for two seasons. She then transferred to Kansas State University which is where she graduated and earned a degree in mass communications and journalism.

Katya was born to Scott and Malia Leick and is the oldest of three sisters. Her sisters' names are Marissa and Kiera. The family is of African-American and Irish heritage.

In 2014, Katya began her career as an anchor at the KSNT station in Topeka, but within a couple of years, she changed her profession to become a real estate agent. Currently, she is the CEO of Kalon Media.

Once the pair were well and truly settled in their respective careers, Ndamukong proposed to Katya in 2019 and got married in 2020. Unfortunately though due to the Covid-19 pandemic, they were forced to have a Zoom wedding.

Ndamukong Suh Kids

After getting married to Katya, Ndamukong and his wife became parents to two wonderful twin boys in March 2021. The twins are named Kingston and Khari. When Ndamukong played in Super Bowl LV with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the two were conceived but yet to be born. Therefore, the couple were extremely excited when Super Bowl LVII came around as both twins were also present to watch their father in action.

Ndamukong Suh Social Media

The former defensive tackle for the Lions has a strong presence on social media with handles on all top sites such as Instagram, X, Facebook, and LinkedIn. He likes to keep in touch with his fans and has a number of followers. His Instagram account is followed by 321K, and his X account is followed by 657.7K followers. He has a further 226K followers on Facebook and his LinkedIn account has 248 connections.

Ndamukong Suh can be followed on the below handles:

• ndamukongsuh - Instagram

• @NdamukongSuh - X

• Ndamukong Suh - Facebook

• Ndamukong Suh - LinkedIn

Ndamukong Suh Draft

The one-time Super Bowl Champion was drafted in the 2010 NFL Draft when the Detroit Lions selected him with the second overall pick. Suh was regarded as one of the best defensive tackles to come out of college by 2009 being extremely proficient in the 4-3 or the 3-4 system. With an equally good production at the NFL Combine, Suh was a sure shot first round selection.

Some of the other notable players of this draft include iconic tight end Rob Gronkowski, wide receiver Antonio Brown, wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, center Maurkice Pouncey, and more.

Ndamukong Suh NFL Journey

Suh’s NFL journey began in 2010 with his selection by the Detroit Lions. Since then he has played for the Miami Dolphins, Los Angeles Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Philadelphia Eagles.

He has had a steady impact with all the teams he played for but has been a bit inconsistent as far as the numbers suggest. Nevertheless, he has been to three Super Bowls as a member of the Rams, Bucs, and most recently the Eagles.

Ndamukong Suh Teams

Detroit Lions (2010-2014)

Starting out his career with the Lions, Suh had arguably his best year in the NFL yet winning the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year terrorizing the opposition offense. He had his career-best 10 sacks in his rookie year but his production levels dropped from there on even though his play was still great.

All throughout his 5-year tenure with the Lions, Suh was a menace on the field for players as his unsportsmanlike conduct kept getting him into trouble. Multiple instances of fines and a couple of suspensions were handed out to him at this time.

Miami Dolphins (2015-2017)

In 2015, the Dolphins made Suh the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history at the time signing him to a mammoth six-year deal worth a $114 million contract with $60 million guaranteed. Even though he continued to be a big presence on the field for the Dolphins, they decided to let him go after three seasons to free up some much-needed cap space.

Los Angeles Rams (2018)

In 2018, he signed a one-year deal with the Rams and helped the team reach the Super Bowl. This would be the first Super Bowl of his career but unfortunately, the Rams would lose a low-scoring 13-3 game to the New England Patriots. The Rams did not extend his contract further.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2019-2021)

From 2019 to 2021, Suh would sign three one-year contracts with the team. Even though his numbers were down, he was still a major presence when he played. In 2020, he was part of the Bucs team which went on to win Super Bowl LV against the Kansas City Chiefs and Suh had 1.5 sacks in the game against Patrick Mahomes.

Philadelphia Eagles (2022)

As a free agent in 2022, the Eagles reached out to him in November to add depth to their roster, signing him to a one-year deal. He featured in 8 regular season and 3 postseason games but didn’t start any of them. However, he once again went to the Super Bowl with the Eagles only to lose to the Chiefs 38-35.

Ndamukong Suh Net Worth

As of 2023, Ndamukong Suh has an estimated net worth of $85 million. He has earned a large portion of his accumulated wealth through his football salary of thirteen years. He has also dabbled into business which has increased his overall worth.

Ndamukong Suh Brand Ambassador

The Portland native has had many endorsement deals in his career. He signed as the brand ambassador for Nike as soon as he entered the NFL. From there, he has continued to grow his endorsement portfolio with deals in place with Subway, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Footlocker, Omaha Steaks, Chrysler, T-Mobile, and more.

Ndamukong Suh Investments

One of the NFL players who has invested his money well is Ndamukong Suh. He has invested in HMS Real Estate, in the hospitality sector with an investment in the GRG (Generals Restaurant Group), House of Spears, and many more.

Ndamukong Suh Achievements

Suh has seen his fair share of glory on the football field. In his thirteen-year NFL career and his college year, Suh has earned several accolades of which the most important ones are as follows:

• Super Bowl champion - Super Bowl LV

• NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year - 2010

• 3 time First-team All-Pro - 2010, 2013, 2014

• 2 time Second-team All-Pro - 2012, 2016

• 5 time Pro Bowl - 2010, 2012–2014, 2016

• NFL 2010s All-Decade Team

• PFWA All-Rookie Team - 2010

• Outland Trophy - 2009

• Lombardi Award - 2009

• Bronko Nagurski Trophy - 2009

• Chuck Bednarik Award - 2009

• Bill Willis Trophy - 2009

• AP College Football Player of the Year - 2009

• Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year - 2009

• Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year - 2009

• Unanimous All-American - 2009

• 2 time First-team All-Big 12 - 2008, 2009

• Nebraska Cornhuskers Jersey No. 93 retired

Ndamukong Suh Super Bowl Wins

Although Ndamukong Suh has played in three Super Bowls in his career, he has managed to be on the winning team in only one of those. In the 2020 season, Suh won his first and only ring as part of the Buccaneers team led by Tom Brady as they overcame the Chiefs with a 31-9 victory.

For his part, Suh had 1.5 sacks, 2 tackles and 2 QB hits in the game.

Ndamukong Suh Career Stats

Regular season

Postseason

Ndamukong Suh Contract

Currently, Ndamukong Suh is a free agent and does not have a contract for the year. His previous contract with the Eagles in 2022 was a one-year deal worth $2,000,000 including a $250,000 signing bonus and $250,000 guaranteed.

His earlier contracts starting from his rookie season with the Lions are as follows. His rookie contract in 2010 was a five-year, $64,502,000 contract including $23,250,000 guaranteed and an average annual salary of $12,900,400. In 2020, he signed a huge six-year deal with the Dolphins worth $114,375,000 including a $25,500,000 signing bonus, $59,955,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $19,062,500. However, he was let go in the 2018 season.

Suh then signed a one-year, $14,000,000 contract with the Los Angeles Rams in 2018. He then went on to sign three one-year deals with the Bucs worth $9,250,000, $8,000,000, and $9,000,000 respectively.

Ndamukong Suh Diet

The veteran defensive tackle is big on following a diet that is not based on how much to eat but at what times of the day to eat. He has a unique approach to maintaining the weight he needs as a defensive lineman. He will go through periods of eating and then periods of fasting.

Generally, his diet includes protein, vegetables, and kombucha. He eats the most during the afternoons, therefore his lunch and pre-lunch snack meals are the biggest by far. During his pre-lunch snack, he will eat almond butter, hard-boiled eggs, parfaits, and trail mix. These are all very rich in proteins. He also has Kombucha during this meal which is a fermented tea made by adding sugar and yeast to black or green tea.

Lunch is fairly simple as it is usually a low-carb one. His lunch includes salad with chicken or vegetables.

Ndamukong Suh House

Throughout his career, Suh has lived in various cities playing for five different franchises in thirteen years. One of his most attractive purchases was his Fort Lauderdale house in Miami when he was playing for the Dolphins.

According to reports, he put a staggering $6.5 million into the 11,142-square-foot mansion. His house was located in Coral Ridge. The house is a typical luxury home featuring six bedrooms, eight bathrooms, a kitchen with two islands, a movie theater, a gym, and a wine cellar. The house also has a pool with giant torches.

Apparently Suh had listed the property for sale in 2018 when he was no longer a part of the Dolphins franchise. Details regarding his current home are unavailable.

Ndamukong Suh Cars

No details on Ndamukong Suh’s car collection could be found. He did mention in one interview that his dream cars are the Land Rovers and Range Rovers. He also mentioned that he owns one of them but which one is not clear.

His Instagram profile however does feature various images of him standing next to cars such as Rolls Royce, Aston Martin, Mercedes, and Porsche Carrera GT.