Background and career
Cortland Temujin Finnegan (born February 2, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Samford Bulldogs, and was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL draft. Finnegan was also a member of the St. Louis Rams, Miami Dolphins, Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints. He was a Pro Bowler in 2008.
Finnegan attended Milton High School in Milton, Florida, where he starred as a safety and tailback, earning second-team All-State as a senior in 2002. He caught 22 passes for 403 yards, and also averaged 3.4 yards per rush and scored three rushing touchdowns. On defense, Finnegan recorded 65 tackles.
During his sophomore year, Finnegan was named first-team All-OVC, third-team All-OVC as returner, third-team All-American by Sports Network and earned Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors, while starting every game. Finnegan totaled team and career-high 108 tackles, three tackles for loss, career-high three interceptions, eight passes defensed and two fumble recoveries, and he also returned 21 kickoffs for 577 yards (27.5 avg.) and one touchdown. As a junior, Finnegan was named first-team All-OVC, while starting every game at free safety. He led his team with 86 tackles, two tackles for loss, three interceptions (tied career-high), two passes defensed and one fumble forced. Finnegan also returned 11 kickoffs for 286 yards (26.0 avg.). During his senior year at Samford, Finnegan was named first-team All-American by NFL Draft Report, first-team All-American by American Football Coaches Association and first-team All-OVC for third consecutive year. He started every game at free safety and led team with 98 tackles for third consecutive season and added two tackles for loss, one interception, seven passes defensed, one fumble forced and one fumble recovery. Cortland Finnegan ranked first in OVC conference with 15.1 punt return average, while returning 14 punts for 212 yards and one touchdown. Ranked second in OVC conference with 25.1 kickoff return average on 15 returns for 376 yards.
Playing at FCS school Samford, Finnegan was very much unnoticed and overlooked in the 2006 NFL draft. He displayed good speed at Samford's Pro Day, but lacked ideal height and was deemed a shaky tackler. Sports Illustrated projected that Finnegan would go undrafted.
The Tennessee Titans selected Finnegan in the seventh round (215th overall) of the 2006 NFL draft. He was only the third player to be drafted from Samford and was the first player to be selected from Samford in 37 years since Gary Fleming in 1969. Finnegan was the 18th cornerback selected in 2006. On July 17, 2006, the Titans signed Finnegan to a three-year, $1.22 million rookie contract that included a signing bonus of $42,875. Throughout training camp, Finnegan competed to be the No 2. starting cornerback against Reynaldo Hill, Eric King, Andre Woolfolk, and Michael Waddell. Head coach Jeff Fisher named Finnegan the starting nickelback and listed him as the third cornerback on the depth chart to begin the season, behind starting cornerbacks Adam "Pacman" Jones and Reynaldo Hill. On September 10, 2006, Finnegan made his professional regular season debut and made an immediate impact in the Tennessee Titans' home-opener against the New York Jets, making six combined tackles (five solo), one pass deflection, and had his first career sack on Chad Pennington for a seven–yard loss that caused a fumble that was recovered by defensive tackle Randy Starks and led to the game-tying touchdown and two-point attempt to tie the game 16–16 on the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, the Titans would have a fail at their late comeback attempt and lost 23–16 to the Jets. On October 15, 2006, Finnegan earned his first career start as a nickelback and recorded four combined tackles (three solo) during a 25–22 victory at the Washington Redskins. In Week 11, he started in place of Reynaldo Hill as the No. 2 starting cornerback and set a season-high with 11 combined tackles (eight solo) and made two pass deflections during a 31–13 victory at the Philadelphia Eagles. On December 17, 2006, Finnegan recorded three solo tackles and scored the first touchdown of his career after he recovered a fumble, caused by linebacker David Thornton while sacking David Garrard, and returned it 92–yards for a touchdown as the Titans defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 24–17. He finished his rookie season with 70 combined tackles (55 solo), seven pass deflections, two sacks, one fumble recovery, s forced fumble, and scored one touchdown in 16 games and two starts.
On April 10, 2007, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced that Adam "Pac-Man" Jones would be suspended for the entire 2007 NFL season due to multiple off-the-field incidents and arrests. In order to find his replacement, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz had Finnegan compete against Reynaldo Hill, Nick Harper, and Kelly Herndon. Head coach Jeff Fisher named Finnegan a starting cornerback to begin the season, pairing him with Nick Harper. On September 9, 2007, Finnegan started in the Tennessee Titans' season-opener at the Jacksonville Jaguars and recorded five combined tackles (three solo) and set a season-high with three pass deflections during their 13–10 victory. In Week 2, Finnegan made seven combined tackles (five solo), a pass break-up, and made the first interception of his career on a pass attempt thrown by Peyton Manning to wide receiver Reggie Wayne during a 22–20 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. On November 25, 2007, he set a season-high with ten combined tackles (eight solo) during a 6–35 loss at the Cincinnati Bengals. He started in all 16 games for the first time in his career and finished the season with a total of 95 combined tackles (79 solo), 13 pass deflections, one sack, and one interception. The Tennessee Titans finished with a 10–6 record in 2007 and earned playoff berth while placing third in the AFC South. On January 6, 2008, Finnegan started in the first playoff game in his career and recorded eight combined tackles (six solo), made one pass deflection, one sack, and intercepted a pass thrown by Philip Rivers to wide receiver Chris Chambers as the Titans lost the AFC Wild-Card Game 6–17 at the San Diego Chargers.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
