Jonathan Vilma

Jonathan Vilma Speaker Biography

Super Bowl champion and 3x Pro Bowler Jonathan Vilma joined FOX Sports in 2020 as an NFL game analyst. Previously, Jon spent four years at ABC and ESPN, serving as an analyst on ABC’s college pregame, halftime and postgame shows, and regularly appearing on several ESPN programs, including Get Up and First Take. In 2015, he spent time at NBC and NBCSN as a pregame and halftime analyst covering Notre Dame Football.

Vilma was selected out of the University of Miami by the New York Jets as the 12th pick in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft. After being named the 2004 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press, Vilma went on to lead the league in tackles (173) in 2005 and was named to his first Pro Bowl.

In 2008, Jon was traded to the New Orleans Saints where he served as a defensive captain during the run to the Super Bowl XLIV title in 2009, a season in which he led the club in tackles (110) with two sacks and three interceptions. Vilma retired following the 2013 season and was inducted into the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame in October 2017.

A standout at the University of Miami, he helped lead the team to the 2001 BCS National Championship, in addition to earning a spot on the All-BIG EAST First Team (2001) and All-American honors (2003). He was selected three times to the BIG EAST All-Academic Team, earned the Jack Lambert Trophy (2003) and was a finalist for the Butkus Award in his senior year (2003).

The son of Haitian immigrant parents, Jon founded the Jonathan Vilma Foundation in 2010 after the Haiti earthquake to assist with the country’s rebuilding efforts, with a focus on a charter school for children ages elementary through high school. He was named to the Orange Bowl Committee in 2018 and serves on the Board of Trustees for the University of Miami as Chairman of Student Affairs. Vilma was born and raised in Coral Gables, Florida. He graduated from the University of Miami’s School of Business Administration with a bachelor’s degree in finance and currently resides in Miami.