What is Vontaze Burfict's Net Worth and Salary?
Vontaze Burfict is a former professional football linebacker who has a net worth of $12 million. Vontaze Burfict played in the NFL from 2012 to 2019, mostly with the Cincinnati Bengals. He had a highly controversial career, marked by repeated violations of player safety rules that resulted in numerous suspensions and fines. In his final NFL season, with the Oakland Raiders, Burfict received the longest on-field suspension in NFL history, at 12 games.
Early Life and High School
Vontaze Burfict Jr. was born on September 24, 1990 in Los Angeles, California. His father was a gang member and convicted cocaine dealer who was in prison for most of Burfict's childhood, leaving Burfict and his older half-brother DaShan to be raised by their mother, a city bus driver. Their mother eventually remarried and moved the family to Corona. There, Burfict attended Centennial High School, where he played on the Huskies football team. In 2008, he led the team with 159 tackles, two quarterback sacks, and two interceptions. The Huskies went undefeated that season, and won the CIF state championship.
Collegiate Career
Although he originally committed to the University of Southern California, Burfict ended up switching to Arizona State University. In his first season with the Arizona State Sun Devils, he was named Pac-10 Defensive Freshman of the Year. As a sophomore in 2010, Burfict led the Sun Devils with 90 total tackles and was named a first-team All-American. He had a less productive junior season, finishing with 69 total tackles. Burfict subsequently chose to forgo his senior year at Arizona State to enter the NFL draft.
Pre-draft
Although he had been considered one of the best linebacker prospects in the nation prior to his junior season at ASU, Burfict's uneven play as a junior coupled with his volatile behavior caused his draft stock to take a major hit. His prospects became even dimmer due to his poor performance at the 2012 NFL Scouting Combine, where he also failed his drug test.
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Cincinnati Bengals
After going undrafted in the 2012 NFL draft, Burfict signed a three-year contract with the Cincinnati Bengals. He went on to have a strong rookie season, leading the team in tackles with a total of 127. The Bengals ended up finishing second in the AFC North, earning a spot in the Wild Card round. There, the team lost to the Houston Texans. In 2013, Burfict began getting into the aggressive behavior that caused him trouble in both college and high school. In addition to intentionally striking his opponent Ryan Taylor in the crotch, he also hit a defenseless receiver, resulting in a fine totaling $31,000. However, 2013 also ended up being Burfict's best statistical season, as he recorded a league-leading and career-high 171 combined tackles. The Bengals made it back to the Wild Card round, this time losing to the San Diego Chargers.
Prior to the 2014 season, Burfict signed a four-year contract with the Bengals. He got into more trouble that season, as he was fined $25,000 for intentionally twisting the ankles of his opponents Greg Olsen and Cam Newton. Burfict ultimately missed most of the season due to injuries; he played in just five games and recorded 29 tackles. After recovering from microfracture surgery, he returned in November of 2015 and immediately got into trouble again, this time by violently tackling and tearing the MCL of Pittsburgh Steelers halfback Le'Veon Bell. Following another violent incident in December, Burfict was fined a total of $69,454. He concluded the 2015 season with 74 combined tackles in ten games. Back in the Wild Card round, the Bengals lost to the Steelers.
For his repeated violations of player safety rules, Burfict was suspended for the first three games of the 2016 season. He ended up recording 101 combined tackles in 11 games that season. Burfict went on to be suspended for the first three games of the 2017 season, as well, this time due to a penalty during the preseason. He continued causing havoc on the field during the regular season, including when he kicked Steelers fullback Roosevelt Nix in the face in Week 7. Three weeks later, Burfict was ejected after committing two personal fouls. He finished the 2017 season with 69 combined tackles in ten games. Prior to the 2018 season, Burfict earned a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's drug policy. During the season, he was fined $112,000 for unnecessary roughness. Burfict was released by the Bengals after the season.
Oakland Raiders
The day after being released by the Bengals, Burfict signed a one-year contract with the Oakland Raiders. However, he only ended up playing in four games with the team, as his intentional helmet-to-helmet hit on the Indianapolis Colts' Jack Doyle in Week 4 resulted in his suspension for the remainder of the season. This set a new record for the longest on-field suspension in NFL history. In 2020, upon the expiration of his contract with the Raiders, Burfict became a free agent and stated that he was not done playing in the NFL.
