Kenny Golladay is an American football wide receiver for the National Football League’s New York Giants (NFL). With the Lions, he led the NFL in receiving touchdowns in 2019. Kenny has shown hints in his first season that he is a great player. Many even expected him to be in the NFL. However, he now wants to take it another step further and become a bedrock of the Detroit Lions’ offensive line.
You are welcome to peep into the life of the wide receiver. Henceforth, tune in to read about Kenny Golladay’s bio in detail.
Birth and Family
Kenny Golladay’s birth took place on 3 November 1993. His birthplace is located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. He is of African-American origin and American nationality. Additionally, his religious belief lies in the Christian faith. Moreover, he is of the black race. While his mother is Stacy Wright, his father is Kenneth Golladay. Nothing else is known about Kenny Golladay’s family. Kenny Golladay is a Chicago native who grew up in the city. He showed an interest in football since his childhood. Further, he was able to outshine his pals on the pitch. This prompted his family to provide Kenny the best training possible so that he could play in the league someday.
Kenny Golladay & His Early Years
Kenny Golladay School Career
Subsequently, Kenny went to St. Rita of Cascia High School, a small Catholic school for males in Chicago. This school was famous for having a decent sports program.
Kenny made his mark in St. Rita; attracting scouts from all around the country to watch him play. He caught 44 receptions for 640 yards and 9 touchdowns as a senior in 2011. He earned the Blue Division All-Catholic League’s first team honors subsequently.
Kenny Golladay College Career
After passing out of high school, Kenny decided to attend the University of North Dakota. He caught 30 catches for 429 yards and a touchdown as a true rookie. In his second season, Kenny revived his career. He threw 69 passes for 884 yards and 8 touchdowns for his squad.
Kenny received many honors and even got named to the All-Big Sky Conference team at North Dakota. However, he took a transfer from North Dakota to Northern Illinois University (NIU). Kenny had to sit out for an entire season, therefore, owing to NCAA transfer regulations. Moreover, his transfer coincided with the ouster of North Dakota head coach Chris Mussman.
Kenny started all 14 games for the NIU Huskies as a junior, his first season with the team. He concluded the season with 1,129 receiving yards on 73 catches and 10 touchdowns. This was the most achieved by any NIU player in 15 years in a single season. Further, he was named to the second All-MAC team. Besides, he was also placed on the Biletnikoff Observation List for his efforts.
Likewise, Kenny kept his good work up in his last college season. He did so to ensure that he would be picked for the All-MAC first team then. He scored 1,156 yards on 87 catches and 8 touchdowns. Consequently, he became the first player in school history to have two consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.
Kenny Golladay NFL
Kenny attended the NFL Scouting Combine after graduation. Besides, he also enrolled in private workouts with many NFL organizations. In the 2017 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions selected him in the third round with the 96th overall pick. He agreed to a 4-year, $3.19 million contract with a $718,824 signing bonus. And the rest is history.
Kenny Golladay Professional Career
Kenny accepted the offer to play in the 2017 East-West Shrine Game on December 23, 2016. Nonetheless, he was unable to participate due to an elbow injury sustained during Senior Bowl practice. In Indianapolis, Indiana, he was one of the 58 collegiate wide receivers that attended the NFL Scouting Combine. Kenny had a poor performance in the 40-yard dash. He finished 20th among wide receivers and 26th in the three-cone drill. He attended Northern Illinois’ pro day on March 10, 2017. However, he chose to stand on his combined stats and simply take part in positional drills. Therefore, he did very well and caught every throw. The scouts and team representatives from 18 NFL teams praised his performance.
Kenny Golladay Detroit Lions
2017
During training camp, Kenny competed for the third wide receiver spot. His contestants were T. J. Jones, Keshawn Martin, Jared Abbrederis, and Ryan Spadola. He made his NFL debut against the Indianapolis Colts in the Detroit Lions’ first preseason game. Moreover, he caught 3 passes for 53 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 24-10 victory. In the first quarter, he scored his first preseason touchdown on a 23-yard touchdown ball from quarterback Jake Rudock. Golladay is the third wide receiver on the depth chart, behind Golden Tate and Marvin Jones, according to head coach Jim Caldwell.
Nevertheless, Kenny made his professional regular-season debut against the Arizona Cardinals in the Detroit Lions’ 35-23 victory. He had 4 receptions for 69 yards and 2 touchdowns. In the fourth quarter, he scored his first career touchdown on a 10-yard pass from Matthew Stafford. Additionally, he also had a 45-yard reception to secure the win. After a strained hamstring, he missed five games (Weeks 3-9). In the Lions’ 44-20 loss against the Baltimore Ravens on December 3, 2017, he made his first career start. Moreover, he caught two catches for 44 yards. Following, he recorded his first career rush for 9 yards the next week. Likewise, Kenny had 3 receptions for 17 yards in a 24-21 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Furthermore, Kenny enjoyed a 35-11 victory over the Green Bay Packers in Week 17. He caught 2 catches for 80 yards and a 54-yard touchdown. He concluded the 2017 season on a good note. In 11 games and 5 starts, he had 28 receptions for 477 yards and 3 touchdown grabs. With a 9-7 record, the Lions finished second in the NFC North. Conversely, the squad fired head coach Jim Caldwell at the season’s end.
2018
Kenny made a great start to his second professional season under new head coach Matt Patricia. Moreover, he caught 7 passes for 114 yards in a loss to the New York Jets. And that was in the season opener on Monday Night Football. Likewise, he scored a receiving touchdown in 3 of the next 4 games after the loss to the Jets. With 70 passes for 1,063 yards and 5 touchdowns, he concluded the season as the Lions’ leading receiver.
2019
Kenny caught 8 catches for 117 yards and a touchdown in the Lions’ 13-10 win. The match took place against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 2. Further, in Week 4, Kenny caught 5 catches for 67 yards and 2 scores. That match led to a 34-30 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. In a 23-22 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 6, he grabbed 5 catches for 121 yards. In the same vein, in Week 8, his team enjoyed a 31-26 win over the New York Giants. Kenny caught 6 catches for 123 yards and 2 touchdowns. Likewise, his squad ended up in a 31-24 loss to the Oakland Raiders in Week 9. That match saw him catch 4 catches for 132 yards and a score, a season-best.
Kenny has 158 receiving yards on only 4 receptions during the Thanksgiving Series against the Chicago Bears. This took place in Week 13 and one of those receptions was a 75-yard touchdown. The Lions had a defeat of 24-20. At the season’s end, Kenny was named to his first Pro Bowl. He ended the 2019 season with 65 receptions for 1,190 yards and 11 receiving touchdowns, which led the league.
2020
The Lions placed Kenny on the reserve/COVID-19 list on July 29, 2020. Following, a week later, they activated him.
However, due to a hamstring injury, Kenny missed the first two games. In Week 3, he returned against the Arizona Cardinals. His squad enjoyed a 26-23 victory. Moreover, Kenny hauled in 6 receptions for 57 yards and his first receiving touchdown of the season. Further, in a 34-16 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6, he had 4 grabs for 105 receiving yards. Likewise, Kenny had 6 catches for 114 yards in a 23-22 win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 7.
Kenny Golladay New York Giants
Additionally, Kenny signed a 4-year, $72 million contract with the New York Giants on March 20, 2021.
Kenny Golladay Fantasy
In the Giants’ loss against the Washington Football Team, Kenny caught 3 of his 8 targets for 38 yards. Moreover, he caught just 7 targets for 102 yards and no touchdowns in his first 2 games with the Giants. Sterling Shepard, on the other hand, has caught 16 of his 19 targets for 207 yards and a touchdown. This season, Kenny was brought in to be the WR1 in New Jersey. However, it was Shepard who stepped up in the first two weeks.
Kenny Golladay Net Worth
The NFL wide receiver for the Detroit Lions, Kenny Golladay has a net worth between 1-5 million USD.
In the same vein, he had agreed to a 4-year, $3,196,324 deal with the Detroit Lions. Moreover, that included a $718,824 signing bonus – $718,824 guaranteed and a $799,081 average annual salary.
Moreover, his basic salary is around $676K. Likewise, he gets a cap hit of $855,706 and a dead cap value of $359,412. Additionally, he agreed to a 4-year, $3.19 million contract with a $718,824 signing bonus. Nonetheless, the rest is history.
Kenny Golladay Contract
The Giants signed Kenny Golladay to a 4-year, $72 million contract. His contract includes a total of $40 million in guarantees. Likewise, he also received a guaranteed sum of $28 million at the time of signing. Moreover, he received a $17 million signing bonus. In addition, his base pay for 2021 and $10 million of his pay for 2022 are also guaranteed. His name on the roster on the third day of the league year in 2022 offers a guaranteed roster bonus. Additionally, he will get an extra $3 million in salary. Furthermore, he will receive another guaranteed roster bonus on the third day of the 2023 league year. In the same vein, another roster bonus is also due on the third day of the 2024 league year. The contract’s last year is a void year though. Nonetheless, it will end five days after the Super Bowl.
Kenny Golladay Physical Stats
Kenny stands at 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) and weighs 213 pounds (97 kg). He is taller and most likely heavier than the other wide receivers on his team. Furthermore, this gives him an edge and offers his team an extra option. Although Kenny is not the fastest, he is huge enough to make a catch even when he is covered. Moreover, he possesses a great catch radius, thanks to his long arms and 32-inch wingspan.
Kenny Golladay Personal Life
Kenny Golladay is a very private person. He prefers keeping his life away from the public light. Reportedly, he is unmarried. Further, no information is available on the web about his previous affairs. As per records, he has no children either. However, some sources have it – he is dating a lovely lash technician, Araina Jay. She works at Snyder Insurance Company. They might have been dating since 2018.
More Facts about Kenny Golladay
Henceforth, we bring you the usual searches on the web about the wide receiver, Kenny Golladay.
Kenny Golladay Birthday
His birthday falls on 3 November every year.
Kenny Golladay Age
The famed player is 29 years old currently.
Kenny Golladay Zodiac
Scorpio is his sun sign.
Kenny Golladay Height
He is 6’4″ or 1.93 m tall.
Kenny Golladay Weight
He weighs 97 kg or 213 pounds.