Eric Swann

Eric Jerrod Swann (born August 16, 1970) is an American former football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Phoenix Cardinals in the first round of the 1991 NFL draft with the sixth overall pick. He never attended college and was drafted from the semi-professional Bay State Titans. He played in the NFL for 10 seasons from 1991 to 2000 for the Arizona Cardinals and the Carolina Panthers.

Swann played high-school football at Western Harnett High School in Lillington, North Carolina and graduated in 1989.^[1] During his high-school years, he was state runner-up in shot-put and discus throwing, recording distances of 54' 02" and 152' 06" respectively.^[2]

Swann was bound for North Carolina State University but was ruled academically ineligible. Rather than enrolling under Proposition 48,^[3] he left Wake Technical in 1990 to join the semi-pro Bay State Titans in Lynn, Massachusetts with a $5-per-hour salary.^[4][5]

Swann was drafted in the first round of the 1991 NFL Draft with the sixth overall pick.^[6] On April 24, 1991, Swann signed a five-year contract with the Phoenix Cardinals.^[5] In 1995 and 1996, Swann was named an NFL All-Pro and selected for the NFC Pro Bowl team.

In 1998, Swann resigned with the Cardinals for a five-year, $25 million contract with a $7.5 million signing bonus,^[7] the richest contract ever signed by a Cardinals player to date.^[8] Because he was recovering from knee surgeries, Swann did not practice with the Cardinals in the 1999 training-camp period.^[9] In 1999, he played nine games and recorded four sacks and a 42-yard interception.^[10]

The Cardinals waived Swann on July 11, 2000.^[11] Two weeks later, he signed a one-year, veteran minimum deal with the Carolina Panthers along with Reggie White.^[12]

In 2007, Swann played for the Hudson Valley Saints of the North American Football League.^[13]

Swann was inducted into the American Football Association's Semi Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998.^[14]