Vincent Jackson

Vincent Jackson (born January 14, 1983), sometimes referred to by his initials V.J., is an American football wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Northern Colorado. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2005 NFL Draft. Jackson has been selected to the Pro Bowl three times and has exceeded 1,000 receiving yards during four seasons.

Early years
Jackson attended Widefield High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado. As a senior, he was a Rocky Mountain News All-State Honorable Mention, a first team All-Area pick, and a first team All-Conference pick. He also was a standout in basketball. A straight-A student in high school, Jackson was accepted to Columbia, but decided to attend University of Northern Colorado on a partial scholarship to play both basketball and football.

College career
Jackson played college football at the University of Northern Colorado. It was one of the few colleges that recruited Jackson out of high school. One of the few true freshman to ever play for the University of Northern Colorado, Jackson earned All American Honors as a punt returner, scoring the first time he ever touched a ball on a punt return against Adams State College (CO). He rewrote the record books on the way to becoming Northern Colorado's all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards (game & season), KR yards, PR yards, receiving touchdowns. His senior season was highlighted by a 13-catch 249-yard, 3-touchdown effort against Florida Atlantic.

2005 NFL Draft
Jackson was the 29th player selected in the second round (61st overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft (the highest ever by a Northern Colorado graduate) by the San Diego Chargers.

San Diego Chargers
Jackson got off to a slow start in 2005 due to injuries. He was inactive for the first five games of the season and finally saw his first NFL action in an October 16 game against the Oakland Raiders. Jackson caught his first pass on November 6 against the New York Jets, but he would only catch two more passes for the rest of the season.

Jackson caught his first NFL touchdown on September 17, 2006 in a victory over the Tennessee Titans. In 2006 in a Christmas Eve game against the Seattle Seahawks, Jackson had a memorable touchdown catch that led the Chargers to victory. With 29 seconds left, quarterback Philip Rivers threw a touchdown pass to Jackson and the Chargers ended up winning the game 20-17 and setting a franchise record for wins. Jackson ended the season strongly and finished second on the team with six touchdown catches.

In a 2006 game against the Oakland Raiders, Jackson nearly made one of the most bizarre turnovers in recent NFL history. After making a 13 yard catch on fourth down, Jackson immediately got up and spun the ball forward in celebration. Because Jackson had fallen on his own and was not tackled, Raiders cornerback Fabian Washington believed it to be a fumble and leapt upon the ball. Possession was originally awarded to Oakland, but the Chargers were then flagged for an illegal forward pass and allowed to keep the ball.

Following the 2006 season, Jackson was charged with driving under the influence. Jackson pleaded guilty and was placed on probation.

By virtue of the release of Keenan McCardell and an injury to Eric Parker, Jackson entered the 2007 season as a starting wide receiver for the Chargers. He started the season in an unmemorable fashion in a home game against the Chicago Bears by dropping a sure touchdown that bounced off his chest in the end zone. However, by the end of the season, Jackson had distinguished himself as a top target for Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers.

In the 2008 season, Jackson had a career season with 59 receptions, 7 TD's and 1,098 yards. He became the first Chargers wide receiver to have 1,000 yards receiving since 2001.

On January 6, 2009 Jackson was arrested for a second time on suspicion of drunken driving. Jackson pleaded guilty and was given 5 years probation (among other penalties) on February 23, 2010.

Jackson followed his strongest season as a pro with an even stronger one during the 2009 season, when he finished with 68 receptions, and led the team in receiving with 9 TD's and 1,167 yards.

During a January 17, 2010 divisional playoff game against the New York Jets, Jackson made a 37 yard catch that was challenged by Jets head coach Rex Ryan. Jackson received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for kicking the challenge flag, which cost the Chargers 15 yards (The play was upheld). Jackson would finish the game with 7 receptions for 111 yards, becoming the first receiver of the 2009 NFL Season to record a 100 yard game on Jet's All Pro CB Darrelle Revis. However, in a bizarre play down field, Revis did record a single interception off a fluke bounce resulting from Jackson's shoe.

On March 2, 2010 Jackson faced arraignment for driving with a suspended license. He was handcuffed briefly and had his car impounded following a traffic stop just a few hours before the Chargers' playoff loss to the New York Jets. Jackson was pulled over for playing loud music. He was cited for driving with a suspended license and expired tags.

Jackson was selected to his first Pro Bowl during the 2009 NFL season as an alternate. Jackson had a strong showing in his first Pro Bowl appearance, racking in 7 receptions for 122 yards including a 48 yard catch and run for a Touchdown.

On July 1, 2010, it was announced that Jackson had been suspended for three games for violating the league's personal conduct policy.

Following a contract dispute, Jackson returned in week 11 of the 2010 NFL Season after holding out the first 10 games. In week 15 against the San Francisco 49ers, Jackson had a career high 3 TD's and 112 yards en route to a 34-7 win. He finished the season with 14 receptions and 248 yards.

On February 15, 2011, the Chargers placed their franchise tag on Jackson.

During the labor dispute between league owners and players following the end of the 2010 season, a lockout occurred from March 11 to July 25. Jackson was one of the 10 plaintiffs in the Brady antitrust lawsuit against the NFL, which included star players such as Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and fellow 2010 holdout Logan Mankins. Initially, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that Vincent Jackson wanted compensation in the form of $10 million or become an unrestricted free agent when the lockout was over. Jackson denied reports that he had asked for compensation, but on July 23 Jackson released his claim in the Brady v. NFL lawsuit. Jackson's decision to drop his alleged request of unrestricted free agency and/or monetary compensation helped expedite the completion of the new labor deal. Jackson's Franchise Tag was held up under the new NFL CBA.

On July 29, 2011, the first day teams were permitted to sign non-rookie free agents, Jackson signed his one-year Franchise offer, thus remaining a Charger. Because of his contract holdout during the 2010 NFL season, Jackson received only $583,000 in compensation for playing in the final six games of the season. For the 2011 season, under the franchise tag, Jackson received approximately $11.4 million, almost 20 times more than in the previous season. On Week 9, Jackson played a personal best of 141 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Green Bay Packers. He finished the season with totals of 60 catches for 1,106 yards and nine touchdowns. He was named to the Pro Bowl as an alternate for Wes Welker.

Contract Dispute
When the NFL's Collective Bargaining Agreement expired, Jackson became a Restricted Free Agent for an additional year, causing the Chargers to place a one-year, $3.2 million tender on him. Seeking a long-term deal instead, Jackson held out of training camp. On June 15, 2010, the Chargers cut his tender to $583,000, 110% of his salary for the 2009 NFL season. On August 20, 2010, the Chargers placed him on the Roster Exempt List, meaning that he would have to serve a 3-game suspension once he had agreed to a contract. The National Football League Players Association arranged a deal in which if Jackson was traded by the Chargers by 4 PM on September 22, he would have instead been placed on the Commissioner Exempt List, rolling 6 games of suspensions (3 for pleading guilty to drunk driving and 3 for being placed on the roster exempt list) into 4. No deal materialized. The agreement also stipulated that he could be traded two days before the NFL trade deadline, but once again no deal materialized in that time. On October 29, 2010, Jackson ended his hold-out and signed the one-year tender. The deadline to sign and accrue a full season, so that he would be an unrestricted free agent in 2011, was October 30, 2010.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
On March 13, 2012, Jackson signed a 5-year, $55.55 million contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On October 21st against the New Orleans Saints, Jackson set multiple Buccaneer records, with the longest reception in Tampa Bay history (95 yards) and the most receiving yards in a single game (216 yards). Jackson was selected to his 3rd Pro Bowl to replace the injured Calvin Johnson.