| No. 95 | |||||||||||||
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| Position | Defensive end | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (1976-10-12)October 12, 1976 (age 49) Poplar, Wisconsin, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight | 275 lb (125 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Northwestern(Maple, Wisconsin) | ||||||||||||
| College | Wisconsin | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1999: 3rd round, 83rd overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Thomas Allen Burke (born October 12, 1976) is an American former professionalfootball player who was adefensive end for four seasons with theArizona Cardinals in theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theWisconsin Badgers, earningunanimous All-American honors in 1998. During the 1997–1998 season, Burke led all college football with 22 sacks and 31 total tackles for loss while helping Wisconsin to a Rose Bowl victory and #5 overall ranking. He was chosen in the third round of the1999 NFL draft by the Cardinals and played all four years of his NFL career with Arizona.
Burke was born inPoplar, Wisconsin.[1] He attended Northwestern High School in nearby Maple, Wisconsin,[2] and played for the Northwestern Tigershigh school football team, of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA), Heart O' North Conference.
Burke attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and played for theWisconsin Badgers football team from 1995 to 1998. As a senior in 1998, he was recognized as a unanimous All-American, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, first-team All-Big Ten, and received theBill Willis Trophy. He holds the Big Ten record for most sacks in a single season with 22.[3]
The Arizona Cardinals selected Burke in the third round (83rd pick overall) of the1999 NFL draft, and he played for the Cardinals from1999 to2002.[4][5] In four NFL seasons, he appeared in 36 games, started 12, and accumulated 49 tackles and 4.5 sacks.[1]
On June 15, 2021, Burke was arrested in Wisconsin for allegedly sexually assaulting a seven year old girl in St. Louis County, Minnesota. The report states he performed oral sex on the child on several occasions. On January 29, 2024, a Duluth, Minnesota jury acquitted Burke of the charges.