Bio
Terrell Owens is an American football wide receiver. A six-time Pro Bowl selection, and former holder of the league single-game reception record, Owens has been one of the dominant receivers of his era.
One of the top wide receivers in the National Football League, he is a six-time NFL All Star, a six-time Pro-Bowl selection, and holds the league single game reception record.
No stranger to controversy, the outspoken "T.O." has garnered criticism in the media at times for telling it like it is, but always backs up his bravado with his undeniable performance on the field and record breaking stats.
Born in Alexander City, Alabama, Terrell comes from a broken family background, but was able to find himself in sports.
At Benjamin Russell High School he played baseball, basketball and ran track. He also lettered four times in football, where he wore the number 80 on his jersey to honour his idol, San Francisco 49er Jerry Rice.
Owens was quickly recruited by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and swiftly established himself as an explosive receiver for the UTC Moccasins.
He was drafted into the NFL in 1996 by the San Francisco 49ers, where he was thrilled to play alongside his hero Jerry Rice. It was in San Francisco that Terrell set a new NFL record of 20 receptions for 283 yards in a single game.
In 2003, Owens was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, immediately ratcheting up the Philly offence to a new level.
In 2004, in a game against the Dallas Cowboys, Owens sustained a severely sprained ankle and a fractured fibula. Defying doctors expectations, he vowed to play in Super Bowl XXXIX, Philadelphia's first return to the event in twenty years.
To the surprise of all, he was able to complete his rehabilitation in time to play in the game, and though they lost to the Patriots, Owens finished with a heroic nine catches for 122 yards.
After a bitter contract dispute, Owens was released by the Eagles in 2006, and was picked up by the Dallas Cowboys four days later for a three-year, 25 million dollar contract.
More setbacks and surgeries were to follow, but by the 2007 season Owens and the Cowboys began to live up to their potential.
New career highs and franchise records followed, as well as more of T.O.'s flashy trademark end zone antics, and ever-present media controversies.
Finally on March 4th 2009, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones released Owens. The veteran wide receiver was immediately scooped up by the Buffalo Bills for the 2009 season.
Off the field, Terrell is involved in a wide range of charitable activities. He serves as a celebrity chairperson for the Alzheimer's Association - the grandmother who raised him was diagnosed and has lived with the disease since 1996 - and has addressed Congress to request more funding for Alzheimer's research.
He's raised money on behalf of Hurricane Katrina victims and has also started his own foundation to benefit families in need.