Lamar Jackson Biography

Lamar Jackson was born Lamar Demeatrice Jackson Jr., on January 7, 1997, in a relatively poor region of Florida named Pompano Beach, in the US. His father, Lamar Jackson Sr., died of a heart attack the day his grandmother died in 2005, when Jackson was of age 8. Following this, he and his siblings, younger brother Jamar Jackson and 2 younger sisters, were raised by their mother, Felicia Jones.

Jackson initially attended the Santaluces Community High School in Lantana, Florida and played football there occasionally. He sat out his sophomore year.

He then joined the Boynton Beach High School in Boynton Beach, Florida, where he played for the Boynton Beach Tigers football team in 2013 and 2014. At Boynton Beach, he established himself as an exceptional quarterback and won the Lou Groza Award for High School Player of the Year honor.

In 2015, after graduating from high school, Lamar Jackson joined the University of Louisville, in Louisville, Kentucky, as a communications major. During this university days, he had a successful stint with the Louisville Cardinals.

He became the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 2015 Music City Bowl, after recording 227 passing yards, with 2 touchdowns. He also rushed for a Music City Bowl record of 226 yards and 2 touchdowns. In his debut game as a sophomore, he created a university record for 8 touchdowns

Jackson won the Walter Camp Award, for being the US collegiate player of the year, and the Maxwell Award, for being the best all-around player in US college football. On December 10, 2016, he was awarded the Heisman Trophy, thus scripting history as the youngest recipient of the award in history, at 19 years and 337 days.

He was also honored with a Unanimous All-American, the Associated Press Player of the Year, and the Sporting News Player of the Year in 2016. Jackson also bagged both the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) Player of the Year honor and the ACC Offensive Player of the Year award twice (2016 and 2017). His college career ended with 9,043 passing yards, 69 touchdown passes, and 4,132 rushing yards.

Lamar Jackson was picked up by the Baltimore Ravens in the 2018 NFL Draft. While many suggested he switch to playing as a wide receiver, he stuck to being a quarterback.

He made his debut NFL appearance in a match against the Buffalo Bills. He made his first appearance as a starter in a match against the Cincinnati Bengals in November 2018. With his 117 rushing yards in the game, Jackson set a franchise record for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in a single game.

In his rookie season, he was the youngest quarterback to start a playoff (at age 21). Jackson also helped his team win the AFC North Division title.

He began the 2019 season with 324 yards and 5 touchdowns in a game against the Miami Dolphins. He thus became the youngest quarterback with a perfect passer rating and received the AFC Offensive Player of the Week honor.

In the same season, Jackson was the quarterback with the most rushing yards (1,206). His 36 touchdown passes helped him lead the league table.

That year, he was also the first player in the history of the league to score more than 3,000 passing yards and more than 1,000 rushing yards in a season. He also had the most rushing attempts by a quarterback in a single season (176).

Jackson also became the first NFL player to pass for over 250 yards and rush for 120 yards in a single game and the first NFL player to pass for over 200 yards and rush for 150 yards in a season game. He also became the second NFL player to record 2 perfect passer ratings in the same season.

He was also awarded NFL’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) honor in 2019, thus scripting history as the second-youngest player to earn the honor and the second player to be unanimously selected for the award (after Tom Brady in 2010). He also became the 4th African-American quarterback to achieve the feat. The 2019 edition of NFL’s official video game, Madden NFL, had Jackson’s character’s speed pushed up to 96, thus making him the fastest quarterback in the history of the video game.

Jackson began the 2020 season with the AFC Offensive Player of the Week award, which he won for his 275-yard and 3-touchdown score. In Week 4, he became the fastest player in the history of NFL to score 5,000 yards passing and 2,000 yards rushing.

During the training sessions for the 2021 season, Jackson contracted COVID-19. Nevertheless, he went back to the field in Week 1 (after recovery). He scored 235 passing yards and a passing touchdown against the Oakland Raiders.

He also created an NFL record for the most rushing yards by a quarterback on Monday Night Football match, rushing for 124 yards. Jackson also scored 2 rushing touchdowns and a passing touchdown in the same game and earned the AFC Offensive Player of the Week honor in Week 14 again.

An ankle injury in a game against the Cleveland Browns in Week 14 kept him away from matches in the rest of the 2021 season. Jackson still made it to the Pro Bowl for his performances earlier in the season. By the end of the season, he also made history as the first NFL quarterback to surpass 1,000 rushing yards in multiple seasons.

In the 2022 season, Jackson scored the most 100-yard rushing games by a quarterback, in a game against the Miami Dolphins and earned the AFC Offensive Player of the Month in September. He, however, missed many games due to a sprain.

Lamar Jackson has been dating Jaime Taylor since 2017. The couple met during their days at the University of Louisville.

Jackson lives with his family in Owings Mills, Maryland, a short distance away from the Ravens training complex. Also known as Smiley Face, Jackson launched his sportswear line, Era 8 Apparel, in 2018.

In August 2020, he signed an endorsement contract with the sports and lifestyle accessory and sunglass brand Oakley, Inc. In May 2022, Jackson stepped into the hospitality business, buying a soul food restaurant in Florida. In September 2022, he declared on Twitter that he would be featured as the cover star of NFL's first virtual reality game, NFL Pro Era.