Marshawn Lynch
Marshawn Terrell Lynch (born April 22, 1986) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. Nicknamed "Beast Mode",[1][2] he spent the majority of his career with the Seattle Seahawks. Lynch grew up in Oakland, California and played college football for the nearby California Golden Bears, earning first-team All-American honors and becoming the school's second all-time career rusher.[3] He was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the 2007 NFL draft and played three full seasons before joining Seattle during the 2010 season.
Bay Area Panthers
Owner
April 22, 1986
Oakland, California, U.S.
5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
215 lb (98 kg)
Oakland Technical (Oakland, California)
California (2004–2006)
2007 / Round: 1 / Pick: 12
10,413
10,413
4.2
85
287
2,214
9
Playing for the Seahawks from 2010 to 2015, Lynch was voted to four consecutive Pro Bowls, made one first-team All-Pro selection, and twice led the league in rushing touchdowns. He also helped the team win their first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XLVIII. His Beast Quake touchdown during the 2010–11 NFL playoffs, which saw him rush for 67 yards while breaking nine tackles, is considered one of the greatest runs in NFL history. Lynch retired in 2015 following an injury-plagued year, but returned to the NFL in 2017 to play for the Oakland Raiders, his hometown team. After two seasons, Lynch retired a second time until he reunited with the Seahawks in 2019 for their last regular season game and playoff run. Since retiring for a third and final time, he has co-owned the Beasts of Fan Controlled Football (FCF) and the Bay Area Panthers of the Indoor Football League (IFL).
Early life[edit]
Lynch grew up in Oakland, California with three older siblings. He was raised by his mother Delisa, who once held a 200-meter track record at Oakland Technical High School. Lynch started playing youth football in Oakland at a young age.[4]
Education[edit]
Lynch attended and graduated from the same high school as his mother,[5] Oakland Technical High School, from 2000-2004.[6][7]
He attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he majored in social welfare and played for the Golden Bears football team from 2004-2006.[8]
In 2020, he received an honorary degree from Princeton University after he was invited to be the Class of 2020 speaker.[9][10]
Beast Mode[edit]
The nickname "Beast Mode" became a popular way to refer to Lynch and his style of play.[232][233][234] While the term was in use since 1996 with the debut of the animated Transformers series Beast Wars, Lynch claims it developed as his nickname because one of his childhood coaches would refer to him as a beast.[235]
Lynch has since developed the nickname into his Beast Mode brand, which includes an apparel line, retail store, and at least one partnership with international brands.[236] The first Beast Mode store opened in Oakland, California on February 7, 2016, during Super Bowl 50.[237] On April 8, 2015, rapper Ludacris released the video for his single "Beast Mode," named after Lynch, who appears in the video. Ludacris mimics Lynch's interview at the Super Bowl media day by saying "I'm just here so I won't get fined" to reporters before Lynch comes in and adds "You know why we here". Lynch makes a cameo in the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops III.[238] He also appeared in the fourth episode of the sixth season of Tanked where they created a special fish tank for "BeastMode" first aired June 19, 2015.[239] He is featured in the game Predator: Hunting Grounds as the playable character "Dante 'Beast Mode' Jefferson".
Lynch was approached by former Pro BMX rider Todd Lyons, who noticed that Lynch rode his BMX products. Lyons, acting as the current brand manager for SE Bikes BMX company, partnered with Marshawn to create a Beast Mode Ripper: an adult-sized BMX bike with customized Beast Mode branding as a 2018 SE Bicycle.[240][241]
On September 19, 2017, Lynch launched his own ad-supported Beast Mobile cellphone service that allows subscribers to pay their phone bill by engaging in ads and offers.[242]
Indoor football teams[edit]
In November 2018, Lynch and Richard Sherman were announced as the first two team owners in a proposed Fan Controlled Football League, a concept based on Project Fanchise's use of a mobile app for fans to call plays for the team that they had initiated with the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles of the Indoor Football League (IFL) a year earlier.[243] The league was delayed and eventually played its first game, rebranded as just Fan Controlled Football (FCF), in February 2021 with Lynch as one of three owners of a team called the Beasts. Lynch dressed for the game, but decided not to play.[244]
In 2019, Lynch was also announced as co-owner of the Oakland Panthers of the Indoor Football League (IFL) alongside Roy Choi, who also owns the IFL's Cedar Rapids River Kings and San Diego Strike Force.[245] Introduced to Choi by his brother Davonte Sapp-Lynch who plays in the IFL, Lynch saw the indoor football team as a way to keep professional football in Oakland after the departure of the Raiders for Las Vegas.[246] Davonte Sapp-Lynch was one of the first players the Panthers signed.[247] The Panthers were to start playing in the 2020 season, but it was cancelled after the opening week due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Panthers also went dormant for the 2021 season.[248]