Eric Johnson is a popular American footballer who has played at the tight end in the prestigious National Football League. He subsequently made the draft into San Francisso 49ers in 2001. His popularity has been cemented by his 2004 game when he had two touchdowns. He was also the ex-husband of Jessica Simpson.
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Note that this biography is of Eric Maxwell Johnson. It is not about other similarly named personalities such as the actor of Smallville or the popular guitar musician who sang Cliffs of Dover.
Early Life and Beginning of Career
Eric Johnson was born on September 15, 1979. His birthplace is Needham in Massachusetts. He was educated at two schools — the Needham High and the Belmont Hill. After receiving an education, where he was quite active in sports, he went on to attend the Yale University. Here he actively participated in football and performed as their wide receiver. He was noticed when Yale won against Harvard in 1999 where he scored the prizewinning touchdown catch.
Noticing his exemplary gameplay, he was taken into the seventh round of the NFL Draft of the 2001 season. The league assigned to him was the San Francisco 49ers. This was a checkered career for he suffered from several injuries, but still led his team to match-winning finishes when he was in prime form.
Rollercoaster Career
Johnson could not play the whole of the 2003 season because of medical issues and another injury kept him away from contributing to his league in the 2005 season too. He played in 2004 though, and this is when he scored two touchdowns and 82 catches, for which he received a great deal of acclaim. He came back to play in the 2006 season but this time he was not alone. Giving him company was the legendary Vernon Davis who had made the first draft pick of the league.
In 2007, he quit San Francisco 49ers and was signed in by the New Orleans Saints. However, this was just a one-year stint. The next year, the 49ers took him back after the Saints let go of him.
Personal Life
Johnson has had two romantic relationships that are publicly known. The first was with the freelance stylist Keri D’Angelo, whom he married in 2005. The couple got divorced in 2010. At this time, he got linked with the popular singer Jessica Simpson. His celebrity girlfriend led him to become the grist of the media glossies. They got engaged in 2010 and married in 2014 in the marine city of Montecito. The couple has two children. The older one is a son named Maxwell Drew and the younger is a daughter named Ace Knute.
A little-known fact about Eric Johnson is that he was called The Big Nerd in college because he read a lot of books. His favorite books were usually self-help books such as Rich Dad, Poor Dad. He retired from football when he was just 28 years old. However, his financial acumen helps him to be on the celebrity charts often. His actual net worth and salary are not known in the public domain though.
Last Modified: Mar 14, 2020
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