Christian Andrew Ponder is a former American football quarterback who is professionally known as Christian Ponder. He was selected 12th overall in the 2011 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings and he helped lead the team to a playoff appearance in 2013. He is well recognized for playing for the Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos, and San Francisco 49ers. He was also a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award during his senior year at Florida State. He was the starting quarterback and threw for 1,500 yards and seven touchdowns in 2004. As a senior, he passed for 1,214 yards and 20 touchdowns and rushed for 911 yards and 12 touchdowns. “The Dallas Morning News” named him to their all-district first team as well as Scout.com named him the 20th-ranked quarterback prospect, while Rivals.com rated him the 14th-ranked pro-style quarterback and the 50th-ranked college prospect from Texas.
Famous For
- Being a former American football quarterback.
- For playing for the Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos, and San Francisco 49ers.
Source: @seminoles
Where is Christian Ponder From? Details About His Family, Nationality, and Education
Christian Ponder was born on 25th February 1988 with the real name of Christian Andrew Ponder in Dallas, Texas, the U.S. He is of American nationality and belongs to American-white ethnicity. Similarly, his religious belief is in the Christian religion and his race is white. Ponder has celebrated his 33rd birthday as of 2021 and as per his birthdate, his star sign is Pisces. His father, David Ponder, played college football for Florida State as a defensive lineman from 1980 to 1983, and thus Christian Ponder is one of several father-son duos who have both played for Bobby Bowden, who coached the Seminoles until the end of the 2009 season. His mother’s name is Christine Ponder. He also has a brother named Jon Ponder.
Moving to Ponder’s education, he attended Colleyville Heritage High School, where he played football. He graduated from Florida State in two and a half years with a degree in finance and a 3.73 GPA, then an MBA, and is studying for his second graduate degree, in sports management.
Christian Ponder Career Timeline
College career
- Christian Ponder kicks off his football career playing football in high school as he was the starting quarterback and threw for 1,500 yards and seven touchdowns in 2004 whereas he sat out his true freshman season at Florida State on redshirt status in 2006.
- Then he served as the back-up behind starting quarterback Drew Weatherford in 2007 and was named the starting quarterback ahead of senior Weatherford.
- He started in all 13 games and completed 177 passes on 318 attempts for 2,006 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. He also made 119 rushing attempts for 423 yards and four touchdowns. At the season’s end, Christian was named the team’s most valuable offensive player.
- In 2009, through the first eight games of the season, he led the ACC in passing average per game and was one of the national leaders in yards and passing efficiency.
- He threw for over 2,700 yards and 14 touchdowns and considered jumping to the NFL a year early but, after hitting Clemson safety DeAndre McDaniel on an interception return, Ponder separated his shoulder and missed the rest of the season. This ended his professional hopes, at least for one year. He resumed his role as the starting quarterback in 2010.
- His 2010 season, his senior year and only year under coach Jimbo Fisher, was his most successful as he was the first Seminole quarterback since Chris Weinke in 1999 to lead his team to victories over both its in-state rivals, Miami and Florida.
- Also, he won the 2010 James Tatum award, given to the nation’s top student-athlete, and a National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Award as well as he won the Bobby Bowden Award presented to the top student-athlete among FBS schools.
Christian Ponder Professional Career
Minnesota Vikings
- Christian was selected 12th overall by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft and he was the fourth quarterback selected in the draft behind Cam Newton, Jake Locker, and Blaine Gabbert. He agreed to terms with the Vikings on a rookie contract that included $10 million guaranteed.
- He then made his NFL debut against the Chicago Bears in the fourth quarter on 16th October 2011 and in a game where the Vikings were blown out 39-10, Ponder completed 9 of 17 passes for 99 yards in his first real action.
- It was announced on Tuesday, 18th October, that he would make his first start the following Sunday against the Green Bay Packers replacing McNabb as the starter.
- On his first career pass attempt as a starter, he hit Michael Jenkins on a 72-yard play-action pass. Two plays later, he threw his first career touchdown completing a short pass to Visanthe Shiancoe. He helped the 1-5 Vikings give the undefeated Packers a close game and finished 13 of 32 for 219 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions in the 27-33 loss.
- He was able to get his first win as an NFL starting quarterback the following week against his fellow 2011 draft mate Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers on 30th October 2011.
- He threw for 236 yards and a touchdown, and had a passer rating of 102.7 in the close 24-21 game, and finished the season throwing 13 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions, compiling a 2-8 record as a starter as the Vikings finished 3-13 for only the second time in franchise history.
- Later the Vikings opened the 2012 season at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Trailing with just 14 seconds left in the game, Ponder completed a 26-yard pass to Devin Aromashodu.
- The Vikings returned home as an underdog playing the San Francisco 49ers where Christian had arguably the best game of his career to that point, completing 21 of 35 passes for 198 yards, two touchdowns, and rushing for another touchdown on a 23-yard run. The Vikings won the game 24-13 and Ponder drew praise from NFL analysts.
- He struggled mightily at Lambeau Field in a game against the Packers on 2nd December in the fourth of those losses and completed a season-long 65-yard pass to Jarius Wright, which set up his third touchdown pass of the game.
- According to ESPN’s Total QBR system, he finished the league as the 15th rated quarterback ahead of former Pro Bowlers Jay Cutler, Josh Freeman, and Matt Cassel.
- As well, he went into the 2013 season as the starting quarterback but the Vikings started 0-3, and Ponder performed inconsistently in losses at Detroit, at Chicago, and home to Cleveland.
- He showed improvements over the start of the season as he completed nearly 67% of his passes, threw five touchdowns, rushed for two touchdowns, and had a quarterback rating of 86.5.
- His final start of the season came on 1st December when Ponder was forced to leave the game against the Bears due to a concussion and he finished the game leading the Vikings to a win and started the final four games of the season. In total, the Vikings finished the season 5-10-1 and Ponder went 2-6-1 as a starter.
- Following the disappointing 2013 season, his future with the Vikings fell in doubt however he saw his first regular-season action filling in for Bridgewater when he injured his ankle late in his first career start, which was a 41-28 win over the Atlanta Falcons on 28th September.
- He became an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season because the Vikings chose not to extend a fifth-year option with him. He accrued a 14-21-1 record as a starter for the Vikings, having started the majority of games for them from 2011 to 2013.
- He is eighth in Vikings history in quarterback yards and 10th in passing touchdowns as of the 2016 season. He also holds multiple rookie quarterback records for the franchise.
Oakland Raiders
- Ponder signed with the Oakland Raiders on a one-year contract on 13th March 2015 that included a $1.5 million signing bonus. He entered training camp playing with Oakland’s second-team offense behind starter Derek Carr but ahead of Matt McGloin.
- During the preseason, he returned to Minnesota in a game where he was booed by Vikings fans. Ponder finished the game 7 for 11 with 69 yards.
- Following his release from Oakland, Christian generated interest from the Philadelphia Eagles but was not signed. He worked out for the Dallas Cowboys in September and the Tennessee Titans on 3rd November but again went unsigned.
Source: @dailynorseman
Denver Broncos
- Christian signed with the Denver Broncos to be the third-string quarterback on 25th November 2015, while Peyton Manning nursed injuries whereas he was inactive for games against New England and San Diego as he learned the playbook but was waived on December 8 before ever being active for a game.
- He spent the 2015 season on two different teams, worked out for two others, and received interest from at least two more teams.
San Francisco 49ers
- Ponder signed with the San Francisco 49ers on a one-year deal following a season-ending injury to Thad Lewis and the unknown health status of Colin Kaepernick on 16th August 2016. The contract was worth $800,000 and included no signing bonus or guarantees.
- After signing with the 49ers, his wife revealed on her Instagram account that Ponder had previously turned down other NFL jobs for the sake of his family.
- It was reported on 7th October 2016 that after bad play by starting quarterback Blaine Gabbert, several teammates believed Ponder should start. Head Coach Chip Kelly said Ponder’s performance in practice led to him being in uniform.
Who is Christian Ponder Wife?
Christian Ponder is a married guy. He tied a knot with ESPN reporter Samantha Steele on 17th December 2012. The pair first started seeing each other after Ponder messaged her on Twitter. After two months, the couple decided to get married, driving to a Hudson, Wisconsin courthouse before having their wedding meal at Arby’s. The two held a formal ceremony the following April. Their first child, a daughter named Bowden Saint-Claire Ponder was born in 2014. Bowden Ponder was named after Christian’s college football coach at Florida State. Samantha revealed on Twitter in 2017 that the couple’s first son was born. They named him Robinson True and said that “he was named after Jackie and David (Robinson)… two men of courage who weren’t/are/isn’t afraid to hold to their convictions and take the road less traveled. Currently, Ponder and his wife live in Arizona and New York City. Reflecting on Ponder’s sexual orientation, he is straight.
Source: @instagram.com/cpseven
Christian Ponder Net Worth: How much is he making annually?
Christian Ponder is a versatile guy who has a net worth of $12 million as of 2021. He has also a handsome amount of salary which is around $800,000 per year. He has earned wide recognition in his professional career. He has a perfect personality. As per the spotrac, he has summoned $12,546,345, playing six seasons in the NFL. In 2012, he bought two-story brick and stone house worth $880,000 at Lake Minnetonka, but after sixteen months he sold it reportedly for $1.095 million. In addition, his major source of income is his football quarterback career.
How tall is Christian Ponder?
Christian Ponder is 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) tall and his body weighs around 230 lb (104 kg). He has brown hair and dark brown eyes color. Ponder’s ethnic background is probably one of the reasons for his bold and extremely attractive personality. Furthermore, his body build type is athletic.
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