Kyle Rudolph is an American footballer who plays as a tight end for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL) after he was picked in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft as the 43rd overall. Prior to his going pro, he played for the University of Notre Dame where he had an excellent college career albeit with some injury worries. Here are lesser known facts about the football star.
Early Life
Kyle Rudolph was born and named Kyle Daniel Rudolph on November 9, 1989, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is one of the three children born to Jamie and Dan Rudolph. His father deals in buying and selling of sports items while his mom is a domestic worker.
Kyle is the oldest of his siblings. His brother Casey was born with a congenital disease which was said be cancer. It affected his organs but he survived has made it so far all thanks to the numerous surgeries he had. His sister, Kori is an expert when it comes to the game of volleyball.
A two sportsman who played well in the game of basketball and football at Elder High School, Kyle gained perfection in the duo but decided to fully commit to football. He was an outstanding athlete and had a lot of scholarship offers from different schools including the likes of Michigan, Virginia, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Tennessee but he chose Notre Dame over the rest.
While at high school, he completed his freshman season with 29 reception for 340 yards. He shattered a lot of records and recorded impressive numbers as a second-year student-athlete. Then, he totaled 28 receptions for 328 yards in addition to three touchdowns.
Well, Kyle’s pursuit of obtaining a degree in management-consulting at Notre Dame was cut short after he poured his passion into football and decided to go pro in his third year.
Meanwhile, when he was in the school, he played in all 13 games in his freshman season. With this, he was rated as the first tight end in the history of Notre Dame to have set such record and the first year student-athlete to ever begin a season opener at the tight end.
In his second year at Notre Dame, he couldn’t top up his records as he incurred an injury. In total that year, he appeared in only nine games. Upon his return, he played in six games but couldn’t continue as he sustained yet another injury.
Come 2011, Rudolph was selected as the 43rd overall pick in the 2nd round of the NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings. Ever since he joined the Vikings, he has proved his worth as a tight end and has broken a few records. In all, Kyle has played with the Vikings for 7 seasons in which he had a 5-year contract extension in 2014 which was worth $40 million. He has played in over 90 games starting more than 85.
Wife and Kids
Kyle Rudolph is a family man, he took marital vows with a lady named Jordan Nine on February 13, 2016, in Los Cabos, Mexico. Prior to that, Kyle asked Jordan to be his wife in a very romantic way on October 8, 2015, she obviously said yes! The two met during Kyle’s days at the University of Notre Dame. Their story could be described as love at first sight which later blossomed into a beautiful union.
Their home has been blessed with twin girls, Andersyn Kate and Finley Claire. The twins were born exactly a year and 4 days after their engagement precisely on October 4, 2016.
It’s no secret that Kyle has been doing amazingly well in his career but a few are not aware that his wife is not a sit at home mom. She runs a blog called First Steps & First Downs, a medium she uses to publicizes the affairs of her family. For the records, she holds a degree in communication studies from the prestigious St Mary’s College.
Kyle and Jordan have reached out to their community in the little ways they can. They have worked with a few charitable organizations over the years and are said to be currently partnering with the University of Minnesota Masonic Children Hospital. They have set a standard while working for the hospital and have also created a day where the hospital celebrates a Halloween Huddle. On Jordan’s part, she has also involved other athletes wives where they supplied blankets to the hospital on different occasions and she also organized a spa day for each patient and patient mother’s in the hospital.
Salary
Kyle Rudolph cap hit is 4% of the Minnesota Vikings cap total for the 2018 season. He is rated on the 9th position on the team’s active roster. He inked a 5-year contract with the Vikings worth $40 million with a $6,500,000 signing bonus, and $18,500,000 guaranteed. His average annual salary is calculated to be $7,300,000 and a base salary of $6,025,000.
The NFL star also earns a roster bonus and a work out bonus of $250,000 respectively while carrying a cap hit of $7,675,000 in addition to a dead cap value worth $7,425,000.
Other Facts
Height and Weight: Kyle Rudolph spots a perfect athletic build, he hits the gym at free will and has tried within his capacity to maintain his physique. He stands at 6 feet 6 inches and weighs 120kg.
Family time: Despite having so many things on his plate, the tight-end adores his family, he takes out time to help his wife with the girls and has shown them an immeasurable amount of love as the patriarch of their home.
Awards: Among the numerous recognitions he has gathered a lot of accolades as a result of his outstanding performances on the field, the tight end is popularly known to have played in the Pro Bowl twice.
