David Bakhtiari is an American football player who plays for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). His top-notch performances in football during his days in high school was a proof that he would be able to make a living from the sport if he wanted. While in college, David developed more into a better player and was eventually picked by the Packers as an offensive tackle during the 2013 NFL Draft.
Early Life
David Bakhtiari was born on September 30, 1991, with the full name David Afrasiab Assad Bakhtiari. He is of Iranian and Icelandic descent and has an older brother, Eric Bakhtiari, who also plays football. Eric played college football at the University of San Diego, as a defensive end and also for the professional American football team, the Tennessee Titans. David’s two other siblings are Andrew Bakhtiari (Brother) and Danielle Bakhtiari (sister).
The offensive tackle played football and lacrosse while in Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo, California. He was so good that he received letters in both sports for two consecutive years and was subsequently named a team captain during his second year.
As a senior, he helped lead his team to victory at the 2008 WCAL Co-Championship with Bellarmine College Preparatory, with a 6–1 league record. This feat resulted to David being named Honorable Mention All-West Catholic Athletic League, All-Metro (Bay Area), and All-San Mateo County. He was also listed on the Bay Area News Group 2008 Cream of the Crop team, taking the eight spot out of 25 players from northern California.
At the completion of his high school education, Rivals.com ranked David Bakhtiari as a two-star prospect.
He moved on to the University of Colorado for his college career having shunned offers from other schools like Utah, UTEP, and Washington. He majored in Communications while playing for the Colorado Buffaloes from 2009 to 2012.
After being redshirted as a freshman in 2009 David Bakhtiari played in all twelve games during his first year on the gridiron for the Buffaloes, starting eleven games. At the end of the season, the collegefootballnews.com named him for Freshman All-American honors. He also earned a spot among the All-Big 12 second-team for Academics.
Despite being injured on his knee in the season opener during his redshirt sophomore campaign and missing two games, David came back stronger, earning membership of the All-Pac-12 second team. In his penultimate season, the offensive tackle was named to the preseason first-team All-Pac-12 squad. He started all the eleven games he played, missing only one game due to a knee sprain. On the total, the footballer recorded 41 pancake blocks, 2.5 quarterback sacks, and one pressure. His performance bought him a spot on the watch list for the Outland Trophy, and the Rotary Lombardi Award in addition to being named second-team honors for the second consecutive year.
The player later announced on January 8, 2013, that he would forgo his senior season for the 2013 NFL Draft. Following his declaration for the NFL, David was projected to be a second or third round pick but he ended up being selected in the fourth round, (109th overall) by the Green Bay Packers.
He made his professional debut as the starting left tackle in the team’s first preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals at Lambeau Field. Subsequently, he started every game at left tackle for the Packers, becoming the very first rookie to do so in the team since the 16-game schedule was employed by the NFL in 1978. He was also the only NFL rookie to start every game at left tackle in 2013.
David Bakhtiari continued to improve on the areas of his strength and maintain his job at left tackle, playing in all 16 games of his second season and also the 2 playoff games. He was named to the NFL second-team All-Pro squad in 2016 and 2017.
Salary
On September 13, 2016, the Green Bay Packers signed David Bakhtiari to a four-year contract extension worth $48 million, including $16.7 million guaranteed, a $15 million signing bonus and an average annual salary of $12 million.
Bakhtiar’s base salary in 2018 is $1 million while his roster and signing bonuses are $6,375,000 and $3,200,000 respectively. He also earns a workout bonus of $500,000, bringing his cap hit to $11,075,000 with a dead cap value of $17,100,000.
What To Know About His Parents
David Bakhtiari was born to Debbie and Karl Bakhtiar (a real estate businessman in California). A product of an interracial union, the Packers’ starting left tackle is of Iranian and Icelandic descent. His parents and family are very much into sports and are diehard fans of the San Francisco 49ers. Consequently, he grew up being involved in sports from a young age, playing pretty much every sport – soccer, baseball, lacrosse, football before he ended up sticking with football.
The NFL player has a girlfriend named Kerra Lee Schroeder aka Kerra Boo, a volleyball player. The six feet diva was born on September 14, 1990, in San Diego, California, to Debra and Tom Schroeder.
She graduated from Torrey Pines High School in 2009 and moved on to the University of Colorado Boulder from where she graduated with a double-major in Spanish and Linguistics. Kerra also played volleyball at the University but had her dreams of playing at the professional level initially shattered due to a severe injury she sustained. However, she returned to the sport after her college career and now plays professionally for the French team, VCMB France.
The relationship between David and Kerra has not received much media attention but at the moment, there is no news of the couple planning to settle down together.
Body Measurements
By the time he was done with high school, David Bakhtiari was six-feet-four-inches tall and weighed 266 pounds. Though he has not grown taller, the player has increased in weight, becoming 310 lb (141 kg). His arm length measures 34 inches while his hand is 9 1/2 inches wide.
