Austin Booker

Austin Booker is an American professional football defensive end for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He played college football for the Minnesota [Golden Gophers football|Minnesota Golden Gophers] and Kansas Jayhawks.

Early life

Booker attended Center Grove High School in Greenwood, Indiana. As a junior, he had 67 tackles and eight sacks. He committed to the University of Minnesota to play college football.

College career

Booker played at Minnesota from 2021 to 2022. After redshirting his first year, he played in six games in 2022 and had two tackles. After the season, he entered the transfer portal and transferred to the University of Kansas. In his lone season at Kansas, he played in 12 games and had 56 tackles and eight sacks. After the season, he entered the 2024 NFL draft. He sat out the 2023 [Guaranteed Rate Bowl] in order to prepare for the draft.

Professional career

Booker was selected by the Chicago Bears in the fifth round with the 144th overall pick of the 2024 NFL draft. He signed a four-year contract with the team on May 16.
Booker began the 2025 season on injured reserve due to a knee injury suffered in the preseason. He was activated on October 28, 2025, ahead of the team's Week 9 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals season|Cincinnati Bengals]. During the 2025 season, Booker was fined 4 separate fines from the NFL for unnecessary roughness. 3 of them were in games against the Green Bay Packers, and one of those caused the Green Bay Packers quarterback, Jordan Love, to receive a concussion that caused him to miss two games.