Matt Light
Matt Light was born on June 23, 1978, in Greenville, Ohio. He grew up in his rural farming community loving the outdoors and enjoying nature. He played college football at Purdue, first as tight end and then as left tackle. In 1999, Light started 12 games for an offensive line that allowed just 15 sacks, earning second-team All-Big Ten honors. In his senior season, Light earned first-team All-Big Ten recognition after starting 12 games at left tackle, helping an offensive line that gave up only seven sacks en route to a Big Ten title and Rose Bowl game appearance. Light was drafted as an offensive lineman by the New England Patriots during the second round of the NFL draft in 2001.
During his over ten seasons with the New England Patriots (2001 – present), Matt Light has played in 140 games with 138 starts. His 140 games are the third highest total of any active player, trailing only Kevin Faulk (154) and Tom Brady (145). He has been a part of eight division championships, four conference titles, and three Super Bowl crowns. Light was named to the Associated Press All-Pro first team in 2007, and earned AFC Pro Bowl honors in 2006 and 2007. In 2008, Light started every game at left tackle as part of an offensive line that was the best rushing season for the Patriots in over 20 years in terms of rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, and average yards per carry. In 2009, Light was part of an offensive line that allowed the fewest sacks (18) by a Patriots line since the NFL moved to a 16-game schedule in 1978. He is one of four Patriots offensive tackles to earn Pro Bowl honors since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, joining Patriots Hall of Famer Bruce Armstrong, Leon Gray and Brian Holloway.
Although Matt plays football for a living, he has interests and inspirations in other areas. It is because of these that Matt started the Light Foundation to help kids. “I believe in helping out any way you can. I have very strong faith and was very active in our church growing up. I feel like there’s a real purpose for every person in life and believe we’re all here for a reason. I think we all need to help each other out, and honesty and accountability and working hard are things families embody and I personally embody,” he said. The Light Foundation is dedicated to empowering young people through grants, scholarships and outdoor activities. In addition to raising and donating thousands of dollars each year, the foundation has conducted football camps for more than 800 children and workshops or programs for more than 1,000 others.
In 2009 Matt Light became a partner in SportRobe, a company that combines high-quality bathrobe with authentic sports jerseys. Each SportRobe can be fully customized with any embroidered number, name, and logo of a fan’s favorite team from the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, NASCAR, and select collegiate sports programs. Light is instrumental in the planning of SportRobes’ marketing, public relations, and product expansion.
Twitter: @LightFoundation