Bobby Wagner

Bobby Joseph Wagner was born on June 27, 1990, in Los Angeles, California. He played high school football at Colony High School in Ontario, California, where as a senior in 2007 he recorded 125 tackles and four sacks while also catching 37 passes for 595 yards and 11 touchdowns as a tight end. A two-star recruit, his only college offer came from Utah State.

At Utah State from 2008 to 2011, Wagner was a four-year starter who totaled 445 tackles, 4.5 sacks, and four interceptions. As a senior in 2011, he was named WAC Defensive Player of the Year after posting 147 tackles, four sacks, and two picks.

In the 2012 pre-draft process, Wagner accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl, becoming the first Utah State player since Chris Cooley in 2004 to appear in the game. He recorded 22 combined tackles and an interception for the North team, earning Senior Bowl MVP and the North’s Most Outstanding Player award. After missing the NFL Scouting Combine due to pneumonia, he impressed scouts at Utah State’s Pro Day on March 30, 2012, where his 40-yard dash and broad jump would have ranked first among all linebackers at the combine. He was projected as a second-round pick and ranked the fourth-best outside linebacker by NFLDraftScout.com.

The Seattle Seahawks selected Wagner in the second round (47th overall) of the 2012 NFL draft, making him the highest-drafted Utah State player since Rulon Jones in 1980. He signed a four-year, $4.30 million contract on May 7, 2012. Entering training camp, he competed for the starting middle linebacker job and won it after Barrett Ruud was sidelined by injury. Wagner started 15 games as a rookie, finishing with 140 combined tackles, four pass deflections, three interceptions, and two sacks. Pro Football Focus ranked him the second-best inside linebacker and best rookie linebacker in 2012, and he made the PFWA All-Rookie Team. The Seahawks went 11–5 and reached the Divisional Round, where they lost to the Atlanta Falcons.

In 2013, Wagner remained the starting middle linebacker under new defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. On September 22, 2013, he recorded nine tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception off Chad Henne as the Seahawks won Super Bowl XLVIII. Over his career, Wagner spent ten seasons with Seattle, then played for the Los Angeles Rams in 2022, returned to the Seahawks for a second stint in 2023, and later played two seasons for the Washington Commanders.

Wagner is widely regarded as one of the greatest linebackers in NFL history. He was named to the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team, won Super Bowl XLVIII, and has been selected to ten Pro Bowls and eleven All-Pro teams. He led the NFL in combined tackles three times and leads all active players in career tackles. He won the 2023 Art Rooney Award and was named the 2025 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year. Off the field, he is a minority owner of the WNBA’s Seattle Storm.