Michael Sam played one game for the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League.
40 Facts About Michael Sam
2.
Michael Sam was a consensus All-American and the Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year as a senior at Missouri.
3.
Michael Sam became the first publicly gay player to be drafted in the NFL.
4.
Michael Sam spent time on the Dallas Cowboys' practice squad before being waived.
5.
Michael Sam signed with Montreal before the 2015 season, and became the first publicly gay player to play in a CFL regular-season game.
6.
Michael Sam began traveling with the school's varsity football team while in the eighth grade as a water boy.
7.
Michael Sam later became a member of the team, playing defensive end and offensive tackle.
8.
Michael Sam earned first-team All-District honors as a defensive lineman in all four years of high school, and as an offensive lineman in his junior and senior years.
9.
Out of high school, Michael Sam was considered a two-star college football recruit by Rivals.
10.
Michael Sam accepted a scholarship offer from the University of Missouri, after he was recruited by Craig Kuligowski, the team's defensive line coach.
11.
Michael Sam played for the Tigers, competing in the Big 12 Conference.
12.
Michael Sam redshirted in his first year at Missouri, and recorded 3.5 quarterback sacks, 24 tackles, including seven tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, one interception and one blocked kick as a redshirt freshman.
13.
Michael Sam led the SEC in both categories, and tied Missouri's single-season record for sacks.
14.
Michael Sam was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week in two consecutive weeks, after recording three sacks apiece in games against the Arkansas State Red Wolves and the Vanderbilt Commodores.
15.
Michael Sam was named a first-team All-American by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, Associated Press, Sporting News, the American Football Coaches Association, and the Football Writers Association of America.
16.
Michael Sam was named a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award, the Hendricks Award, and the Lombardi Award.
17.
Missouri played in the 2014 Cotton Bowl Classic, in which Michael Sam forced a fumble which was returned for a touchdown, securing Missouri's victory over the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
18.
Michael Sam participated in the 2014 Senior Bowl in January 2014; considered too small to play as a defensive end in the National Football League, he played as an outside linebacker.
19.
Michael Sam was considered to be too small to play defensive end and too slow to play outside linebacker.
20.
Michael Sam showed improvement at a public workout a month later, but his pre-draft rankings ranged from 12th to 25th among defensive ends.
21.
Michael Sam became the first publicly gay player to be drafted into the NFL.
22.
Michael Sam made his professional debut on August 8,2014, during the first preseason game against the New Orleans Saints, where he made one tackle in the game on quarterback Ryan Griffin.
23.
In four exhibition games, Michael Sam recorded 11 tackles and 3 sacks, including a team-leading 6 tackles in the final game.
24.
On September 3,2014, Michael Sam was added to the practice squad of the Dallas Cowboys.
25.
Michael Sam participated in the first NFL Veteran Combine, running 4.99 seconds in the 40-yard dash.
26.
On May 22,2015, Michael Sam signed a two-year contract with Montreal Alouettes of the CFL, which made him the first openly gay player in the league's history.
27.
Michael Sam missed the next game after the team reported he had a sore back.
28.
Michael Sam left the team the following day, citing concerns with his mental health after a 12-month stretch which he described as "difficult".
29.
At one point in his childhood, Michael Sam lived in his mother's car.
30.
Michael Sam was once accidentally maced by police who were arresting one of his brothers.
31.
Michael Sam argued with his mother, a Jehovah's Witness, over playing football, as she did not agree with those pursuits.
32.
Michael Sam often stayed with friends while in high school; the parents of a classmate gave him a bedroom in their house and had him complete household chores.
33.
Michael Sam is the first member of his family to attend college.
34.
Michael Sam came out to his father a week before coming out publicly.
35.
On February 9,2014, in an interview with Chris Connelly on ESPN's Outside the Lines, Michael Sam responded to questions about his coming-out experience and his status as one of college football's first openly self-acknowledged gay players.
36.
Anonymous NFL executives told Sports Illustrated they expected Michael Sam to fall in the draft as a result of his announcement.
37.
The week after his ESPN interview, Michael Sam returned to Missouri with the Tigers football team to accept the 2014 Cotton Bowl championship trophy at a ceremony held at the halftime of a Missouri Tigers basketball game at Mizzou Arena.
38.
On February 24,2015, Michael Sam was announced as one of the celebrities to compete on the 20th season of Dancing with the Stars.
39.
Michael Sam won the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 2014 ESPY Awards.
40.
Michael Sam was named one of GQs Men of the Year, and a finalist for Sports Illustrateds Sportsman of the Year.