Background and career
Samuel Adolphus Madison Jr. (born April 23, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Louisville Cardinals, and was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the second round of the 1997 NFL draft. A four-time Pro Bowl selection, Madison also played for the New York Giants. He has won two Super Bowls, Super Bowl XLII as a player with the Giants and Super Bowl LIV as an assistant coach with the Chiefs.
Madison attended Florida A&M University Developmental Research School where he played wide receiver and defensive back. Aside from football he also lettered in basketball, baseball and track and field.
Madison played college football for the University of Louisville. Madison was a three-year starter for the Cardinals and set the school records for interceptions with 16 and passes defended with 44. As a junior, he earned third-team All-America selection after recording 65 tackles, two sacks, 13 passes defensed and seven interceptions. As a senior, he was named a second-team All-America and first-team All-Conference USA after finishing with 52 tackles, two sacks, six interceptions and 16 passes defensed.
He participated at the NFL Scouting Combine and performed all of the positional and combined drills. Madison also took part in Louisville's Pro Day and improved his time in the 40–yard dash. Madison stated that during the week leading up to the draft he continually had conversations and spoke with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles, as both showed heavy interest into selecting him. The Miami Dolphins never spoke to him leading up to the day of the draft and never showed any inkling of possibly selecting him.
The Miami Dolphins selected Madison in the second round (44th overall) of the 1997 NFL draft. He was the eighth cornerback selected and the first of four players that were selected from Louisville in 1997. Among the cornerbacks drafted before him, Madison is the only one to have both Pro Bowl honors and a Super Bowl ring and is also the only one with more than one Pro Bowl. He has the second most Pro Bowl selections (×4) amongst all of the cornerbacks in the entire 1997 NFL Draft and is one of four Pro Bowl cornerbacks, joining first-round pick (3rd overall) Shawn Springs (×1), third-round pick (66th overall) Ronde Barber (×5), and sixth-round pick (169th overall) Al Harris (×2). All four players have appeared in at least 150 games throughout their careers. On June 16, 1997, the Dolphins signed Madison to a four–year, $2.20 million rookie contract that included a signing bonus of $725,000. He entered training camp slated to be the No. 3 outside cornerback under defensive coordinator George Hill. Head coach Jimmy Johnson named Madison a backup and listed him as the third cornerback on the depth chart to begin the season, behind entrenched starters Terrell Buckley and Calvin Jackson. On August 31, 1997, Madison made his professional regular season debut during the Miami Dolphins' home-opener against the Indianapolis Colts as they won 10–16. In Week 6, he set a season-high with two forced fumbles as the Dolphins defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 14–17. On November 23, 1997, Madison earned his first career start as the No. 2 starting cornerback, in place of Calvin Jackson, who started at free safety after George Teague was benched. He set a season-high with six combined tackles (four solo) as the Dolphins lost 24–27 at the New England Patriots. On November 30, 1997, Madison recorded two solo tackles, set a season-high with two pass deflections, and had his first career interception on a pass by Jeff George to wide receiver Tim Brown during a 34–16 victory at the Oakland Raiders. He was inactive in Week 16 during the Dolphins 0–41 loss at the Indianapolis Colts due to an ankle injury. He finished his rookie season with 21 combined tackles (16 solo), five pass deflections, two forced fumbles, and one interception in 14 games and three starts. The Miami Dolphins finished second in the AFC East with a 9–7 record in 1997 to earn a Wild-Card position. On December 28, 1997, Madison started in his first career playoff game and recorded two combined tackles (one solo) as the Dolphins lost 3–17 at the New England Patriots in the AFC Wild-Card Game.
The Miami Dolphins selected Patrick Surtain in the second-round (44th overall) in 1998. Coincidentally, they both were selected 44th overall in back-to-back drafts. They would become widely regarded as one of the NFL's top cornerback tandems for the majority of their seven–season partnership. (1998–2004) Defensive coordinator George Hill chose to fully transition Calvin Jackson to strong safety so he take over the starting role he began to play at the end of the previous season, following the decision to bench both Corey Harris and George Teague. Head coach Jimmy Johnson named Madison as Calvin Jackson's replacement as the No. 2 starting cornerback and paired him with Terrell Buckley to start the season, along with nickelback Patrick Surtain. In Week 3, Madison made two tackles, set a season-high with five pass deflections, and set a season-high with two interceptions off passes thrown by Kordell Stewart as the Dolphins defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 0–21. In Week 9, he set a season-high with five combined tackles (four solo) and had one pass break-up during a 24–30 loss at the Buffalo Bills. The following game, Madison had one solo tackle, two pass deflections, and intercepted a pass by rookie Peyton Manning to wide receiver Marvin Harrison as the Dolphins defeated the Indianapolis Colts 27–14 in Week 10. On November 23, 1998, Madison made one solo tackle, one pass deflection, and tied his season-high of two interceptions on pass attempts thrown by Drew Bledsoe during a 23–26 loss at the New England Patriots. The following week, he made three tackles, one pass deflection, an interception, and had his first career sack on Kerry Collins as the Dolphins defeated the New Orleans Saints 10–30 in Week 13. In Week 14, Madison made three solo tackles, four pass deflections, and had his seventh interception on a pass thrown by Donald Hollas to tight end Rickey Dudley during a 27–17 victory at the Oakland Raiders. This marked his third consecutive game with an interception with four over that three game span. On December 23, 1998, Madison made five combined tackles (three solo), one pass deflection, and helped secure a 21–31 victory against the Denver Broncos by intercepting a pass by John Elway to wide receiver Rod Smith in the fourth quarter. He started all 16 games and finished with a total of 44 combined tackles (31 solo), made a career-high 20 pass deflections, and set a career-high with eight interceptions. Madison and Terrell Buckley set a new franchise record for most combined interceptions by a cornerback duo in a single season with 16 total after each of them had eight interceptions in 1998.
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.
