Brian Finneran

Brian Joseph Finneran (born January 31, 1976) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League. He was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 1998 and also played for the Barcelona Dragons, Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons. He played college football at Villanova.

Early years

Finneran attended Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, and finished his three-year career there with a school career-record 177 receptions. Finneran received scholarship offers to play college football for the Oregon Ducks and Oregon State Beavers. However, the only school to offer a football scholarship to both Finneran and his twin brother was Villanova.

College career

Finneran and his identical twin brother, Brad, played college football for Villanova University and were lettermen. As a senior, Finneran had 96 receptions for 1,389 yards, earning All-American honors from the Associated Press and being awarded the Walter Payton Award, which is given to the nation's top Division I-AA offensive player. He had 265 receptions for 3,872 yards and 34 touchdowns over his entire college career. He had his number 25 jersey retired by Villanova in the fall of 2003.

Professional career

Prior to joining the Falcons, Finneran played for the NFL Europa Barcelona Dragons where he was named All-NFL Europe. After coming to America and joining the Falcons, he proved to be a consistent possession receiver. Finneran tore ligaments in his left knee during Falcons practice on July 30, 2006 and missed the entire 2006 season. He missed his second straight season after tearing the reconstructed anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Before injuries forced him to miss the previous two seasons, he was the preferred target of quarterback Michael Vick despite generally starting in the slot receiver position. He returned to the field in 2008 but did not start and saw limited action. He was re-signed to a one-year contract on February 11, 2010.

Personal

Brian is married to Erin, they have four children: Conor, Brynn, Keenan, and Cullen. He is one of the three hosts on The Front Row, a morning sports talk show on WCNN 680 The Fan in Atlanta. Finneran also has one of the most powerful and sought-after cards in the Ultimate Team portion of the video game Madden 25 due to him being listed, opposed to 6'5" in reality, as 6'7". He is also currently an ambassador for USA Football. Finneran made another appearance in Madden 16 as a special "Legends" card available in Ultimate Team and Draft Champions modes, this time at the correct height of 6'5". The Madden 16 legends card has an overall rating of 91.

He made his television color commentary debut on April 2, 2016 for the Villanova Team Stream on TruTV for the 2016 Men's Basketball Final Four.