John Tait (American football)

John "Big John" Tait

No. 76
Position:	Offensive tackle
Career information
College:	Brigham Young
NFL draft:	1999 / Round: 1 / Pick: 14
Career history
Kansas City Chiefs 1999-2003 Chicago Bears 2004-2008
Career highlights and awards
2x Pro Bowl selection (2001, 2006)

John Bernard Tait (born January 26, 1975 in Phoenix, Arizona) was an offensive lineman for the both the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He was originally selected with the 14th overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs out of Brigham Young University and played for the Chiefs for five years.

Professional career

As a rookie in Kansas City, Tait held out during the negotiation of his first contract. There was a meeting between Tait, his two agents and Chiefs General Manager Carl Peterson, at Peterson's office that got out of control, wherein Tait and his agents left. Shortly afterward, Peterson called Tait's father and apologized for his harsh words and asked to meet with the family, after which Tait signed an offer sheet for 5 years.

At the end of Tait's contract with the Chiefs, the team put a transition tag on him. Tait later signed with the Bears, who gave him a six-year, $34 million offer sheet the Chiefs failed to match.

Retirement

The February 14, 2009 edition of the Chicago Tribune reported that league sources are expecting Tait to retire rather than play out the final year of his contract. The article cited that Tait had been playing through nagging ankle injuries that had been affecting him more than outsiders realize. Tait would make $4.8 million if he plays the 2009 season.[1]

On February 21, 2009, ChicagoBears.com informed the fans of the Chicago Bears that John Tait had informed the team of his intention to retire in a news article, which began as follows "John Tait has informed the Bears that he plans to retire, and while he has yet to officially file his paperwork with the league, the team is preparing for life without the veteran offensive tackle."[2]

Education and personal life

Graduated from McClintock High School, in Tempe, AZ in 1993.

At Brigham Young University, Tait started all 37 games played during his three-year college career. Tait was an All-America pick his final season and earned first-team All-WAC honors as a junior and a senior. Eligible for a fifth year of college action after redshirting as a true freshman in 1993, Tait had already completed his degree and declared for the draft. He served as the captain for the BYU offense and started all 13 games at left tackle as a junior. He was a First-team All-WAC choice earned first-team All-America honors from Football News (1998) and named National Offensive Lineman-of-the-Year by The Sports Network and received a freshman All-America nod from The Sporting News. Tait earned a bachelor’s degree in communications.

Tait is a devout Mormon and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He took two years off from college to complete his volunteer mission for the Church in Tennessee. While Tait was serving as a missionary, he found himself being recruited at by fans of the University of Tennessee, who wanted to him to play football for their university.