Ronde Barber
Jamael Orondé Barber is an American former professional football player who played 16 seasons in the National Football League with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played college football for the Virginia Cavaliers, earning third-team All-American honors twice. Barber played the cornerback position for the majority of his career and transitioned to safety for his final season.
In the 1997 NFL draft, the Buccaneers selected Barber in the third round with the 66th overall pick. Over the course of his career, Barber was selected to five Pro Bowls, accumulated three first-team All-Pro and two second-team selections. He was selected to the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team. Additionally, he led the NFL in interceptions in 2001, and he is the Buccaneers all-time interceptions leader. Barber is one of the two members of the 40/20 club alongside Charles Woodson, and the only member of the 45/25 club. He also holds the record for most consecutive starts by a defensive back. Barber was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2014, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2023.
Early life
Barber is the son of Geraldine Barber and James Barber. The Barber twin boys were born five weeks premature. Barber was born seven minutes before his identical twin brother Tiki Barber. He was named Jamael Oronde which means "first born son". Tiki was a running back who played for the New York Giants.James Barber was a star cornerback at Virginia Tech and later played in the World Football League. His roommate in college was Bruce Arians. Ronde's parents separated when Barber was very young. James Barber rarely saw his sons when they were growing up, and failed to provide suitable financial support to them. His mother Geraldine worked two, sometimes three jobs to support her three sons. He and Tiki have an older brother, Tarik Barber.
Barber graduated from Cave Spring High School of Roanoke, Virginia in 1993, and was a standout in football, wrestling, and track. In football, Barber was a three-time All-District selection. In track, Barber won the national title in the 55-meter hurdles as a senior in 1993, with a career-best time of 7.18 seconds. He was timed at 14.05 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles. He also won four Group AAA hurdles titles in indoor and outdoor track.
College career
Barber received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Virginia, where he played for the Virginia Cavaliers football team. He redshirted the 1993 season and played for the Cavaliers from the 1994 to 1996 seasons as a defensive back. He was also a kick returner in 1994 and 1996; in 1994, Barber returned 10 kickoffs for 171 yards, and in 1996, he returned 3 for 36 yards. As a defensive back, Barber made 15 interceptions returned for 112 yards in his career with Virginia: 8 for 56 yards in 1994, 4 for 18 yards in 1995, and 3 for 38 yards in 1996. The Atlantic Coast Conference recognized Barber as Freshman of the Year after the 1994 season, and Barber earned first-team All-ACC honors in all his three seasons with Virginia. Barber was part of the Virginia teams that won the 1994 Independence Bowl and December 1995 Peach Bowl. After his junior season in 1996, Barber declared for the 1997 NFL draft. Barber graduated from Virginia in 1997 with a bachelor's degree in commerce with an emphasis in marketing. During Barber's time at UVa, he was a member of the IMP Society, one of the university's secret societies.Professional career
Pre-draft
On January 3, 1997, Barber announced his decision to forgo his final season of eligibility and enter the 1997 NFL draft. He became only the third player from the University of Virginia to enter the NFL draft with eligibility remaining.1997
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted Barber in the third round of the 1997 NFL draft. He was the first of two cornerbacks drafted by the Buccaneers in 1997, alongside sixth-round selection Al Harris. He was the tenth cornerback, the third underclassmen, and the fifth of sixth players from Virginia to be selected in 1997. His identical twin brother and college teammate, Tiki Barber, was selected in the second-round by the New York Giants. They became the fourth set of twins in NFL history to both be selected in one draft, following Rich and Ron Saul, Reggie and Raleigh McKenzie, and Keith and Kerry Cash.On July 18, 1997, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Barber to a three—year, $939,250 rookie contract that included a signing bonus of $405,000.
As a rookie, Barber played only one game, in week 5 against the Arizona Cardinals. Barber had three tackles. Tampa advanced to the divisional round of the playoffs but lost to the Green Bay Packers.
1998
In his second season, Barber started nine games and played in all 16 games, recording 68 tackles, 17 passes deflected, 3 sacks, 2 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, and 12 special teams tackles.1999
In the 1999 season, Barber again played in all 16 games and started 15 as right cornerback. Improving from his previous seasons, Barber posted 74 tackles, two interceptions, one sack, and 16 passes deflected. Making his postseason debut this season, Barber also started both playoff games; the Buccaneers lost the NFC Championship game to eventual Super Bowl XXXIV champion St. Louis Rams.2000
On February 10, 2000, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers re–signed Barber to a one—year, $552,000 contract.For the first time in his career, Barber started all 16 games in a season in 2000. Barber reached new career bests with 97 tackles, 20 passes deflected, and 5.5 sacks. With his 5.5 sacks, Barber led all NFC defensive backs in sacks. He had two interceptions, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and six special teams tackles. For the week 2 game, Barber was NFC Defensive Player of the Week for 3 tackles, 2.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and a 24-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown against the Chicago Bears. Picking and returning for 37 yards a pass from former Tampa quarterback Vinny Testaverde, Barber scored his first career touchdown from an interception return in the week 4 21–17 loss to the New York Jets. In the Wild Card game on December 31, a 21–3 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Barber made 5 tackles.
2001
On April 9, 2001, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Barber to a six—year, $20.25 million contract extension that included a signing bonus of $2.55 million.In 2001, Barber started 16 of 16 regular season games and made 71 tackles, 1 sack, 14 passes deflected, and 10 interceptions. Barber returned an intercepted pass from Aaron Brooks 36 yards for a touchdown in the week 15 win over the New Orleans Saints. Barber made his first Pro Bowl and All-Pro teams this season.
2002
Starting all 16 games again this season, Barber made 79 tackles, 3 sacks, 17 passes deflected, and returned 2 interceptions for 9 yards. Barber was part of a Tampa secondary that ranked first in total defense and passes defended. Barber also started all three playoff games, including Tampa's Super Bowl XXXVII victory.In the NFC Championship game on January 19, 2003, Barber picked off a pass from Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb and returned the interception 92 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to seal Tampa's 27–10 road victory and brought Veterans Stadium to near-silence. Bob Ford of The Philadelphia Inquirer labeled this game as "the most ignominious defeat of Andy Reid's head coaching career" because of Barber's interception return. In 2011, Tampa Bay Times sportswriter Rick Stroud ranked Barber's interception return for touchdown in the NFC Championship game as the greatest scoring play in team history. Barber also deflected 4 passes in that game. In Tampa's 48–21 victory over the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII on January 26, 2003, Barber made five tackles.
2003
For the fourth consecutive season, Barber started all 16 regular season games. Barber again continued to make more tackles annually with 97 this season. Additionally, Barber deflected 3 passes, returned 2 interceptions for 53 yards, and forced 3 fumbles. In week 5, a 38–35 overtime loss to the Indianapolis Colts, Barber returned an intercepted pass from Peyton Manning 29 yards for a touchdown.2004
Starting all 16 regular-season games, Barber made 98 tackles, 3 sacks, 10 passes defended, 3 interceptions returned for 23 yards, and 2 forced fumbles. He also returned 2 fumbles for touchdowns. Chosen as a starter for the 2005 Pro Bowl, Barber made his second career Pro Bowl appearance. This season, Barber also earned first-team All-Pro honors from the Associated Press. For the second time since the 2002 Super Bowl championship season, Tampa's pass defense was number one in the league, and Tampa's total defense was in the top ten for the eighth straight season.2005
Barber had 99 tackles, 2 sacks, 15 passes defended, and 5 interceptions returned for 105 yards in 16 games in 2005. Barber intercepted three passes from Saints quarterback Aaron Brooks on December 4 in Tampa's 10–3 win over New Orleans, including one in the end zone in the Saints' final drive. On December 11, in the week 14 game against the Carolina Panthers, he became the first cornerback in the history of the NFL to record at least 20 interceptions and 20 sacks in his career. Tampa lost the Wild Card game 17–10 to the Washington Redskins, and Barber made 8 tackles that game. Barber made his third career Pro Bowl appearance in the 2006 Pro Bowl.2006
On August 2, 2006, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Barber to a five—year, $24 million contract extension that included an initial signing bonus of $6 million.In 2006, starting 16 of 16 regular-season games, Barber had 98 tackles and 13 passes deflected. He also returned 3 interceptions for 103 yards; two of those interceptions Barber returned for touchdowns. On October 22 against Philadelphia, Barber became the first player in Buccaneers history to return two interceptions for touchdowns in one regular-season game. After Barber scored in the second quarter on a 37-yard return of an interception from Donovan McNabb, Tampa took a 17–0 lead late in the third quarter with Barber's 66-yard interception return of a McNabb pass. Despite a late comeback by the Eagles, Tampa won 23–21 on a last-second 62 yard field goal by Matt Bryant. Barber made his fourth career and third consecutive Pro Bowl in the 2007 Pro Bowl.