Danny Amendola

Danny Amendola was born in The Woodlands, Texas, to Rose and Willie Amendola. He attended The Woodlands High School, where he was named first-team all-state by the Texas Sports Writers Association.⁠[1]

Amendola played college football for the Red Raiders at Texas Tech. In 2004 he was the only true freshman to see the field for the team, returning 29 punts for 371 yards and a touchdown, and was named first-team All-Big 12 as a return specialist.⁠[1]

In 2006 he posted a career-high 487 receiving yards, and in 2007 his teammates elected him team captain.⁠[1]

After going undrafted in 2008, Amendola signed with the Dallas CowboysDallas CowboysThe Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL), competing in the NFC East. Their home is AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and their headquarters are at The Star in Frisco. Founded by Clint Murchison Jr. and Bedford Wynne, the team was approved by the NFL as its 13th franchise on January 28, 1960. It was sold to a partnership led by Bum Bright (H.R. Bright) in 1984 and acquired by Jerry Jones in 1989. The Cowboys have won five Super Bowls: VI (1972), XII (1978), XXVII (1993), XXVIII (1994) and XXX (1996).Open the full entry as a free agent and spent his rookie season on their practice squad; he began 2009 on the Philadelphia EaglesPhiladelphia EaglesThe Philadelphia Eagles are an NFL professional American football team founded in 1933 and competing in the NFC East. Based at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, they won NFL championships in 1948, 1949 and 1960 and Super Bowls LII and LIX. Jeffrey Lurie purchased the franchise in 1994, and Nick Sirianni became head coach in 2021.Open the full entry’ practice squad.⁠[2]

On September 22, 2009, the St. Louis Rams signed Amendola to their active roster. He played four seasons for the Rams and set a career high with 85 receptions for 689 yards in 2010.⁠[2][3]

In 2013 Amendola signed a five-year contract with the New England Patriots. In five seasons with New England he caught 230 passes for 2,383 yards and 12 touchdowns.⁠[4][3]

He won Super Bowl XLIX against the Seattle SeahawksSeattle SeahawksThe Seattle Seahawks are an NFL professional American football team in the NFC West, based at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington. Awarded a franchise in 1974, they began play in 1976 and won Super Bowls XLVIII and LX under Pete Carroll and Mike Macdonald respectively. The Khosla family became the controlling owner when its acquisition closed in September 2026.Open the full entry and Super Bowl LI against the Atlanta FalconsAtlanta FalconsThe Atlanta Falcons are an NFL professional American football team awarded a franchise in 1965 and beginning play in 1966. Founded by Rankin M. Smith and purchased by Arthur Blank in 2002, the team plays at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Its headquarters and practice facility are in Flowery Branch, Georgia.Open the full entry with the Patriots, catching a touchdown pass in both games; in Super Bowl LI he converted the two-point try that tied the score at 28–28.⁠[3][4]

In Super Bowl LII, a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Amendola caught eight passes for 152 yards. All 13 of his playoff games came with New England, with 57 receptions for 709 yards and six touchdowns.⁠[3]

On March 15, 2018, Amendola officially signed with the Miami Dolphins on a two-year, $12 million contract with $8.25 million guaranteed. The same day he said farewell to the Patriots on Twitter (now X): “To Mr. Kraft, teammates, staff and all of Pats nation, thank you.”⁠[5][6]

He played one season for the Dolphins before being released.⁠[3]

Amendola played for the Detroit Lions in 2019 and 2020 and for the Houston Texans in 2021, appearing in eight games in what was his final NFL season.⁠[3]

In July 2022 Amendola, 36, announced his retirement after 13 NFL seasons, saying his career was “better than I could have ever imagined.” He was considering a career in broadcasting.⁠[7][2]

Over his NFL career he played 163 games with 76 starts, catching 617 passes for 6,212 yards and 24 touchdowns, with 11,761 all-purpose yards.⁠[3]

In 2024 Amendola was inducted into the Texas Tech Red Raiders Hall of Fame.⁠[4]

In 2024 Amendola competed as a celebrity contestant on season 33 of ABCABCABC (American Broadcasting Company) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It grew out of NBC’s Blue radio network, took its name after becoming independent in 1943, developed into a national television network after merging with United Paramount Theatres in 1953, was acquired by Capital Cities in 1985, and has been owned by The Walt Disney Company since 1996. With CBS and NBC it is one of the three traditional U.S. broadcast networks, and it is one of the five networks that rotate in the White House television pool.Open the full entry’s Dancing with the Stars, partnered with professional dancer Witney Carson.⁠[4][8]

In the season 33 finale on November 26, 2024, Amendola and Carson finished fifth.⁠[9]

X: Public account: https://x.com/DannyAmendola (opens in a new window).⁠[5]