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Brandon Short

From Alfawiki
Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Brandon Short, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 8 August 2025
Brandon Short
Born
Brandon Darrell Short

(1977-07-11) July 11, 1977 (age 49)
McKeesport, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation(s)Professional football linebacker (retired), business executive
Years activeNFL player: 2000–2006; Business career: 2010–present
Known forNFL linebacker for New York Giants and Carolina Panthers, Director of Mergers and Acquisitions at Round Hill Capital, Penn State board of trustees member

Brandon Darrell Short (born July 11, 1977) is a retired professional football linebacker who competed in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. While at Penn State, he achieved consensus All-American status in 1999. Throughout his NFL career, Short played with the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers, notably participating in Super Bowl XXXV as a member of the Giants. Currently, he holds the position of Director of Mergers and Acquisitions at Round Hill Capital based in London and is a member of the board of trustees at Pennsylvania State University.

Early life

Born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, Short attended McKeesport Area High School, where he distinguished himself in both football and basketball. In his senior year, he earned the title of Associated Press Pennsylvania Big School Player-of-the-Year after amassing 171 tackles, eight sacks, two interceptions, five forced fumbles, six recoveries, and blocking one punt, guiding his team to an undefeated 15–0 record and a Class AAAA state championship. He was a four-time letterman in both sports and received accolades including being named a USA Today Top 25 high school athlete, a high school All-American, and the 1995 Big 33 Most Valuable Player. Additionally, his basketball squad secured the top state ranking during his final year.

College career

At Penn State University, Short was a four-year starter and served twice as captain under coach Joe Paterno for the Penn State Nittany Lions football program. He earned the title of defensive MVP in the 1998 Citrus Bowl and was selected for the All-Big Ten squad during both his junior and senior seasons.

In 1999, as a senior, Short received All-American recognition and, together with teammate LaVar Arrington, became among the first teammates to be finalists for the prestigious Butkus Award, honoring the nation's premier linebacker. This pair played a key role in Penn State’s dominant 24-0 victory over Texas A&M in the 1999 Alamo Bowl. That season, Short led his team with 103 tackles along with four sacks.

Freshman Season

Short saw limited action as a true freshman before sustaining a foot injury that sidelined him for most of the season, leading to a medical redshirt. The next year, he started every game at rush end/linebacker and led with 12 tackles for loss while recording 3.5 sacks. Over 812 plays, he compiled 48 tackles, forced and recovered a fumble, blocked a field goal attempt, and deflected two passes. Highlights included ten tackles plus a fumble recovery against Michigan State and six stops with two tackles for loss during the Fiesta Bowl.

Sophomore Year

Although an ankle injury caused him to miss parts of three contests, Short still ranked fourth on the team with 42 solo tackles. He started eight games on defense that limited six opponents to 17 points or fewer. His contributions included tying for second on the squad with 12 tackles for loss, adding 2.5 sacks, intercepting one pass, and breaking up three others. His efforts earned him Defensive MVP honors at the Citrus Bowl.

Junior Year

Short led Penn State's defensive revival, finishing as the team's top tackler with 67 total stops (49 solo), 15 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, and 5.5 sacks. As a Butkus Award semi-finalist, he matched his personal best by making 10 tackles (8 solo) against Minnesota, including a career-high three sacks that earned him both Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week and ABC Player of the Game distinctions.

In 1999, Short graduated from Penn State with a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing.

Professional career

Selected in the fourth round (105th overall) of the 2000 NFL draft, Short spent five seasons with the New York Giants and two seasons playing for the Carolina Panthers.

During his rookie campaign, he participated in 11 regular season games along with all three postseason matchups for the Giants, including Super Bowl XXXV, despite missing five games due to an ankle injury.

Short was part of a widely reported 2002 training camp incident involving teammate Jeremy Shockey related to a hazing tradition. In 2003, he gained media attention after injuring New York Jets quarterback Chad Pennington's wrist in a preseason game, which sidelined Pennington for six regular-season contests.

In 2004, Short signed with the Panthers as a free agent and played every one of 32 games at strongside linebacker over two years. He amassed 70 tackles and helped the team set a record with 38 takeaways. In April 2006, he returned to the Giants as a free agent.

NFL career statistics

Year Team GP Tackles Fumbles Interceptions
Cmb Solo Ast Sck FF FR Yds Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD
2000 NYG 11 3 3 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
2001 NYG 16 61 45 16 1.0 0 1 0 1 21 21.0 21 0 4
2002 NYG 16 88 63 25 3.0 0 1 0 1 32 32.0 32 0 2
2003 NYG 16 74 48 26 3.0 2 1 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 2
2004 CAR 16 53 40 13 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
2005 CAR 16 60 42 18 0.5 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1
2006 NYG 9 45 38 7 2.0 2 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 2
Career 100 384 279 105 9.5 5 3 0 2 53 26.5 32 0 11

Post NFL Career

Following his playing days, Short transitioned into broadcasting as an NFL analyst on Daily News Live, a sports panel program airing on the SNY Network in New York City. He earned an MBA from Columbia Business School in 2010 and began working at Goldman Sachs that same year, moving to their office in Dubai by 2012.

In April of 2013, Short departed Goldman Sachs to co-found World Business Partners UAE, a financing firm specializing in Sharia-compliant loans for small- to medium-sized enterprises that excludes interest charges and industries such as alcohol and firearms. By the year 2015, he relocated to London to join Cerberus Capital Management. In 2017, he was appointed Director of Mergers and Acquisitions at Round Hill Capital, an international real estate investment and management company. In addition, Short was elected to serve on the Pennsylvania State University board of trustees in 2018.

External links

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