Background and career
Terence Newman (born September 4, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Cincinnati Bengals, and Minnesota Vikings. He played college football for the Kansas State Wildcats, earning unanimous All-American recognition. He was selected by the Cowboys with the fifth overall pick in the 2003 NFL draft.
A native of Salina, Kansas, Newman attended Salina High School Central, where he lettered as a junior and senior in football, three times in track & field and basketball and once in baseball for the Mustangs. As a senior in football, he had 10 receptions for 251 yards and three touchdowns playing as a wide receiver on offense, while also making 45 tackles, five interceptions and five PBUs on the defensive side. In addition, he also returned 13 punts for 271 yards (20.9 avg.), two of them for touchdowns. He was an All-Class 5A selection by the Topeka Capital Journal and Wichita Eagle. He was listed as one of the top 20 recruits in the state of Kansas by First Down Recruiting and was a PrepStar All-Region selection. Apart from football, Newman was also an outstanding track & field performer with times of 10.36 seconds in the 100-meter dash and 21.6 seconds in the 200-meter dash entering his senior season.
Newman attended Kansas State University, where he played as a defensive back for head coach Bill Snyder's Kansas State Wildcats football from 1998 to 2002. His first two seasons he was a backup, until he became a starter and a second-team Big 12 selection as a junior. During his college career, he was also a special teams returner (second player in team history to score on a kickoff and punt return in the same season) and was used sparingly as a wide receiver. He was also a member of the Wildcats track & field team. He redshirted his first year in 1998, and then went on to play from 1999 to 2002.
Still a developing backup defensive back in his second year, Newman saw action in all 11 games as a freshman in 1999. He became an outstanding special teams player, returning a 73-yard kickoff against Baylor. He snagged his first career interception in a 66–0 win over Missouri. He had an impressive spring game with 10 tackles, two passes broken up and an interception that he returned 18 yards.
Newman played in all 14 games as a sophomore in 2000. He recorded a career-high five tackles, including career-high three solos vs. Louisiana Tech in his first career start. He scored a touchdown on a 16-yard blocked-punt against Oklahoma. In track & field, Newman Finished third in the 60-meter dash (6.76s) at the Big 12 Indoor Track & Field Championships, but posted a season-best of 6.72 seconds in the prelims, that rank 2nd all-time behind football teammate Aaron Lockett. He had a season-best time of 21.34 seconds in the 200-meter dash, and was a member of the Wildcats' 4 × 100 m relay team that placed fifth at Big 12 Championships.
As a junior in 2001, Newman was a second team All-Big 12 selection by the coaches, Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Waco Tribune-Herald, and also an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection by the Associated Press (AP). He was named one of 10 semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the top defensive back of the year. He shared the Most Improved Defensive Player award with Terry Pierce. He started all 11 games at cornerback, and was just one of eight Wildcats to start all 11 games at the same position. He ranked fifth in the Big 12 and 16th in the nation in passes defended with 19. He was tabbed as coaches' Special Teams Player of the Game three times (USC, Texas A&M and Louisiana Tech). He ranked fifth on the team with 51 total tackles, including 44 solo stops, led the team with 14 PBUs and two blocked kicks and was third with three interceptions. He had an impressive all-around day against Oklahoma, picking off two passes and defending seven more to go with six solo tackles, leading this to be named the Defensive Player of the Game by the Kansas State coaches. He tied a season-high with seven tackles and blocked his second kick of the season vs. Nebraska. Against Missouri, he got his third interception of the season and also added three other PBUs and five tackles. Newman also server ad a kick returner, and ranks second behind Aaron Lockett in returns, yards and average, totalling 211 yards on nine kickoffs with a 23.4 yards per return average. He also tallied a season-best 81 return yards on two carries against Missouri. In track & field, Newman was just one of two athletes to represent Kansas State's men's team at the NCAA Indoor Nationals, where he finished 15th in the 60 meters. He set a pair of school records for the Wildcats at the 2001 Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships, running a 6.67 in the 60-meter dash semifinals to break the old mark of 6.69 set in 1999 by football teammate Aaron Lockett, while also setting Kansas State's indoor 200-meter dash record with a time of 21.17 seconds. He earned NCAA Outdoor All-American honors in the 100 meters after finishing 12th in a time of 10.49 seconds at the 2001 NCAA Outdoor T&F Championships. He was the Big 12 Outdoor Champion in 100-meter dash with a mark of 10.29 seconds, and set a new school record with a 10.22 mark in qualifying for that event.
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.
