Who is Christian Ponder? Age, spouse, numbers, job, education, profiles, worth
Christian Ponder is a former American footballer and a quarterback in six NFL seasons. The Minnesota Vikings was the first team he played for in NFL. The celebrity is a Christian and was baptized by former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna.
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Source: Getty Images
Andrew takes after his father, David, who played for UFS as a lineman from 1980 to 1983. They are among the rare parent-child squad Bobby Bowden has ever trained. Bobby coached UFS' Seminoles team till 2009. So what is Christian Ponder's job after early retirement?
Christian Ponder's profile summary
- Full name: Christian Andrew Ponder
- Date of birth: 25th February 1988
- Zodiac sign: Pisces
- Age: 33 years in 2021
- Place of birth: Dallas, Texas, USA
- Residence: Arizona and New York City, USA
- Career: Former American football
- Position: Quarterback
- Numbers: 7, 9, 2, 5
- NFL Draft: 2011 (Round 1/Pick 12)
- High school: Colleyville Heritage High School
- University: Florida State University
- Nationality: American
- Ethnicity: White
- Parents: Christine and David Ponder
- Siblings: 1
- Marital status: Married
- Spouse: Samantha Ponder (m. 2012)
- Children: 2
- Height: 6 feet 2 in (1.88 m)
- Weight: 230 lbs (104 kg)
- Eye/Hair colour: Brown
- Religion: Christian
- Denomination: Catholic
- Instagram: cpseven
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Christian Ponder's biography
Christian Ponder's age is 33 years in 2021. He was born to Christine and David Ponder on 25th February 1988 in Dallas, Texas, USA. Andrew is a year younger than his brother Jon and two years older than Austin.
Source: Facebook
He grew up in a Catholic family, and they lived in a two-story brick house in Grapevine, Texas, for two decades. The young Andrew was so soft-spoken that his preschool teacher worried he wouldn't survive high school.
His dad was playing in Canada when his mum was pregnant with him. Hence, David quit football after many injuries and found a job at UPromise Investments.
He got the vice president position when Andrew was five. Playing street football games helped Andrew outgrew the timid phase before joining Colleyville Heritage High School's football team.
He rejected scholarships from almost five higher-learning institutions and took Florida State University's offer. Christian enrolled in a finance degree and graduated with a 3.73 GPA. He later went for a sports management MBA.
Who is Christian Ponder's wife?
He and ESPN reporter Samantha Steele got married on 17th December 2012. She is three years older than Cristian, for she was born on 11th December 1985. The couple met on Twitter after Andrew publicly sent her a message.
Source: Getty Images
After two months of interaction in the DMs, the duo secretly tied the knots at the Wisconsin courthouse in Hudson, followed by dinner at Arby's.
A formal wedding ceremony was in April 2013, and they welcomed Bowden Saint-Claire Ponder in 2014. The couple named her after Andrew's university coach, Bobby Bowden.
They then had son Robinson True in 2017, who they named after Jack Roosevelt Robinson (football player) and David Robinson (basketball player). Daughter Price Anne-Drew was born in 2018.
Career history
Andrew started as a quarterback in high school in 2004, where he threw for 1,500 yards and seven scores. He also completed 1,214 yards and 20 points at the senior level. Andrew joined Florida State University's Seminoles team in 2006 and became quarterback Drew Weatherford's backup in 2007.
He became Seminoles' starting quarterback in 2008 and threw for 1,500 yards and seven points. The player then finished 1,214 yards and made 12 scores in 911 yards at the senior level.
Source: Instagram
The Seminoles won the season with a 9-4 record, and Andrew received the team's most valuable offensive player award. Even after suffering a shoulder injury in the 2009 season, he still had an outstanding record.
Christian Ponder's Draft into NFL
After throwing over 2,700 yards and 14 points, Andrew considered joining the NFL. However, the dream almost crashed when he hurt his shoulder and couldn't play for the rest of the season.
The player returned to the starting quarterback position in 2010 and received the Maxwell Award before the season ended. Also, Florida State campaigned for him to win the Heisman Trophy in July.
Andrew still succeeded under coach Jimbo Fisher even when his throwing arm got hurt and was fatigued several times. He was the first Seminole quarterback to lead the Seminoles to victories within and outside their state.
In 2010, he also received the James Tatum and Bobby Bowden honours, which are only awarded to the most talented student-athletes. Andrew was named MVP of the Under Armour Senior Bowl in 2011 and was selected 12th overall in the NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings.
Source: Getty Images
The Vikings then traded veteran Donovan McNabb for Andrew to mentor him. Christian and the Vikings agreed on a $10 million rookie contract with jersey number 7.
The club moved Andrew to the third-stringer position after a disappointing record in the 2013 season so he was inactive for the first three games of the 2014 season. Then, he became an unrestricted free agent when the Vikings did not renew his contract towards the end of 2014. Instead, in 2015 the Las Vegas Raiders recruited him for a bonus of $1.5 million.
Later, the player bagged a one-year contract with the Denver Broncos on 25th November 2015 as a third-string quarterback, then an $800,000 one year deal with the San Francisco 49ers in 2016. Check out Christian Ponder's stats on the NFL's website. These are Christian Ponder's numbers:
- 2011-2014: Minnesota Vikings (7)
- 2015: Oakland Raiders (9)
- 2015: Denver Broncos (5)
- 2016: San Francisco 49ers (2)
Christian Ponder's net worth
How much does Christian Ponder make? Christian Ponder's career earnings analysis shows that Broncos paid him the lowest salary ($87,647) in his NFL career. So, is Christian Ponder still married?
Source: Getty Images
The couple put their Phoenix house on sale for $3.9 million in 2020 but own another home in the USA's New York City. Samantha earns a $4.9 million annual salary and is worth $12-$15 million. Meanwhile, Christian's worth is about $6.4 million.
So what is Christian Ponder doing now? He recently talked about marriage, retirement, and finding his identity in a Sports Spectrum's podcast (available on YouTube). The retired player is now devoted to his religion and family.
Christian Ponder's success inspires upcoming football players. He admits that God and his wife put him on the right track. Does Christian Ponder still play? He never joined any NFL team after the 2016 season.
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Source: Briefly News
