With a rare blend of determination, charisma and athleticism, Jason Taylor has taken the sports and entertainment worlds by storm and isn’t looking back. After being drafted by the Miami Dolphins in 1997, this home-schooled “Pittsburgh kid” became the greatest pass rusher in the storied franchise’s 43-year history, one of the most feared defenders in the National Football League and a rising star away from the gridiron, judging by his success on ABC’s hit show, Dancing with the Stars. But above all else, it is Taylor’s huge heart that moves one of pro football’s most popular figures to give back through the Jason Taylor Foundation and has resulted in his being named the 2007 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year.
Taylor’s athletic accomplishments are seemingly endless. Following the 2006 season he was named the Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Year, the highest honor bestowed on a defensive performer. In addition, he has received All-Pro honors on four occasions, been selected to six Pro Bowls, appeared on numerous All-NFL Defensive Teams and was named the NFL Alumni Association’s Defensive Lineman of the Year in consecutive seasons (2005-06). In 2009, Taylor returns to the Miami Dolphins where he spent 11 spectacular seasons from 1997-2007 and amassed a team record for career sacks, which currenlty stands at 124. He leads all active NFL players in career sacks (127.5), was the league’s sack champion in 2002 with 18.5, and with 111 sacks since the 2000 season, he is the NFL’s most prolific pass rusher this decade. He was honored as the Dolphins’ Most Valuable Player on four occasions, was the club’s Leadership Award winner twice and is a three-time champion of the NFL’s “Ultimate Defender” competition. In 2004, Jason’s college alma mater, the University of Akron, inducted him into its Ring of Honor, making Jason just the third person in school history to receive such recognition.
Away from the field, Jason has been equally as successful, evidenced by his second-place finish on the sixth season of Dancing with the Stars. People named him to its 2008 “100 Most Beautiful” list and US Weekly tabbed him one of “TV’s New Top 10 Dream Men.” In addition, he has been considered one of the “10 Hottest Men in Sports” by Sports Illustrated for Women and one of the Top 20 Best Looking Male Athletes by a panel of Sports Illustrated swimsuit models. In the spring of 2007, he announced his role as an equity partner and President of Franchise Development for JUICEBLENDZ, South Florida’s hottest smoothie and juice bar franchise. Jason is the first-ever male spokesperson for the Neutrogena line of health and skin products, a Jordan Brand Sports member of “Team Jordan,” appears in national television commercials for Home Depot and Sprint, serves as the face of McArthur Dairy Milk, has been a featured model in several national and international print ad campaigns as well as in Men’s Health, GQ, Sports Illustrated, TV Guide and FHM magazines, has appeared on MTV Cribs, Entertainment Tonight, Wheel of Fortune, BET’s 106 & Park, The Jamie Kennedy Experiment and made a cameo appearance in the box office smash Jackass: Number Two.
Over the course of his 11-year career with the Miami Dolphins, Jason worked with numerous charitable organizations including the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, United Way, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, First Book, Habitat for Humanity and the Urban League. In the spring of 2002, he participated in two USO Tours during which he visited military bases and hospitals in Kuwait, Iraq and Germany.
In 2004, feeling the desire to further extend his charitable arm, Jason and his wife, Katina, established the Jason Taylor Foundation in an effort to build a better future for the children of South Florida. The JTF has made long strides in a short period of time. In 2007, the Jason Taylor Reading Room was proudly launched in Miramar, just a stone’s throw from Land Shark Stadium. Currently, nearly 80 students, ages 12-18, participate four days per week for two hours per day in this multi-faceted, after-school program designed to offer a holistic approach to addressing the problem of illiteracy among inner-city youth. In addition, Holtz Children’s Hospital officially renamed its learning center as “The Jason Taylor Children’s Learning Center,” 29 middle-school students have been awarded college scholarships as a result of the Foundation’s work with Take Stock in Children, hundreds of student-athletes have been treated to inspirational films as part of the “Big Screens-Big Dreams” program and nearly 300 deserving children have each been given a $300 back-to-school shopping opportunity at Old Navy as part of the “Cool Gear for the School Year” program.
Just prior to Super Bowl XLII, Jason was honored with the 2007 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award for his community service activities as well as his excellence on the field. He has been recognized by The Sporting News on multiple occasions with their annual “Good Guys” award and following the 2006 season, James Brown, host of CBS Sports' "THE NFL TODAY," presented Jason with a prestigious JB Award, given to NFL players who have exhibited a commitment to achieve excellence off the field through building better communities and stronger families.
When he is not chasing quarterbacks, Taylor, who enjoys boating and golf, resides in Weston, Fla. with his wife, Katina, their sons, Isaiah and Mason and daughter, Zoe.
