Joe Thomas as of yesterday is a former member of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns. Thomas, 33, played 10 years in Cleveland and never missed a start, playing offensive tackle, one of the most physical and injury-prone positions in the sport.
Playing 167 career games for the Browns, Thomas was drafted out of the University of Wisconsin in April 2007 in the top-three of the NFL Draft. Now retired, the question persists, how much is the ten-time Pro Bowler worth?
Joe Thomas Net Worth 2018: $52 million
Joe Thomas, the retired NFL offensive lineman, has a reported net worth of $52 million.
Early Life
Joseph Hayden Thomas was born on December 4, 1984. Thomas was born in Brookfield, Wisconsin to parents Eric and Sally.
When Thomas attended Brookfield Central High School, the 6-6, 312 lb. pounder was a standout in football. He played multiple positions for the high school team, the Brookfield Central Lancers. Thomas played right tackle, defensive end, tight end, fullback, placekicker, and punter.
His excellence on the gridiron earned him statewide and national recognition including being named a PrepStar All-American, first-team all-state defensive lineman from the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) and the Associated Press. When Thomas was a junior at Brookfield, he earned the spot as the third-best prospect in the state of Wisconsin after a season with 70 tackles and eight sacks.
In 2003, Thomas played in the U.S. Army All American Bowl.
Thomas didn’t only show prowess on the football field, but he did in track and field as well. He set school records in the shot put and discus. His accolades on the track earned him four letters in that category.
In the classroom, Thomas was an honor-roll student all four years in high school and made a spot on the U.S. Army Academic All-America Team.
2003-06
Just before graduating from Brookfield, Joe Thomas signed his letter of intent to stay close to home with the University of Wisconsin in January 2003.
In his freshman season in 03′, the 19-year old was used as a blocking tight end. A year later, Thomas was moved to left tackle. He would stay there for the 2005 Badgers season where was named first-team All-American by Pro Football Weekly. After his first All-American nod, Thomas was ready to declare for the NFL Draft but tore his ACL playing defensive end in Wisconsin’s 24-10 win over Auburn in the Capital One Bowl, forcing him right after the game to announce he would return for his senior season.
Thomas’s senior year, he was named offensive captain by the coaches and started all 13 games of that season. Once Wisconsin’s regular season was over, the Outland Trophy (awarded to the nation’s top interior lineman) was given to Thomas along with another All-American nod. His All-American season led the Badgers to a 12-1 record and another Captial One Bowl victory.
2007-Present
On April 28, 2007, the Cleveland Browns selected Joe Thomas third overall in the NFL Draft. Right after he was drafted, Thomas signed a lucrative contract of six-year, $43 million, with $23 million in guaranteed money.
That training camp, Thomas won the starting left tackle job. Just three months into his rookie season Thomas won NFL Rookie of the Month honors for the month of November. The rookie was selected to his first Pro Bowl in 2008 replacing Jason Peters and came in second in voting for Rookie of the Year, just behind winner Adrian Peterson.
Just four years into his career with the Browns, in August 2011, the 27-year old Thomas was awarded a record-setting seven-year contract worth $84 million dollars. Following the contract, Thomas made it to his fifth straight Pro Bowl. He went to his sixth Pro Bowl a year later and joined a very unique group becoming the only offensive lineman out of 15 players in NFL history to make it six Pro Bowl appearances in their first six seasons.
In 2013 and 2014, Thomas continued his fantastic run of Pro Bowls. He was even named number 18 overall on NFL Network’s Top 100 Players of 2014. After the 2015 campaign, the lifelong Brown was named the recipient of Pro Football Focus’s Bruce Matthews Award for the best offensive lineman in the league.
Once he eclipsed his tenth-straight Pro Bowl nod in 2016, Thomas went into the 2017 season with some uncertainty. He admitted he was in the first stage of losing his memory, but made it his priority not to let it affect his career.
The 2017 season would be Thomas final season in the NFL. In early September, he played his 10,000 consecutive snap, never missing one since he was drafted. That iron man streak ended on October 22 at 10,363 when he got hurt.
Thomas would announce his retirement on March 14, 2018.
A future Hall of Famer, Thomas was a 10x Pro Bowler, seven-time First-Team All-Pro, two-time Second-Team All-Pro.
