Background and career
Zachary Adam Ertz (born November 10, 1990) is an American professional football tight end for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal and was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft. Ertz played nine seasons with the Eagles, making three Pro Bowls and winning Super Bowl LII with them. He set the NFL record for most receptions in a season by a tight end in 2018, which stood until eclipsed by Trey McBride in 2025. Ertz has also been a member of the Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, and Washington Commanders. His wife Julie is a former player for the U.S. national soccer team.
Born in Orange, California, Ertz grew up as the oldest of four children. His father played for the Lehigh University football team from 1981 to 1984. Ertz played high school football and basketball at Monte Vista High School in Danville, California. As a senior, he had 56 receptions, 756 receiving yards, and 14 receiving touchdowns for the football team and was named to the All-East Bay Athletic League first team.
Ertz attended Stanford University, where he played football for the Cardinal from 2009 to 2012. He redshirted the 2009 season. In 2010, he played 13 games and had 16 catches for 190 yards and five touchdowns. He had two receptions, including a touchdown, in the Orange Bowl against Virginia Tech that year. Ertz had 27 receptions, 343 receiving yards, and four receiving touchdowns in 2011, despite missing three games due to a knee injury. In the Fiesta Bowl, he had four catches and one touchdown against Oklahoma State. The following season, as a junior, Ertz had 69 catches, 898 receiving yards, and six touchdowns. He had three catches for 61 yards in the Rose Bowl. His 898 receiving yards was the most by an FBS tight end that season. He was a unanimous All-American, a finalist for the Mackey Award, and an All-Pac-12 first team selection. After the 2012 season, Ertz announced that he would enter the NFL draft.
On January 8, 2013, Ertz announced, through a statement released by Stanford, his decision to forgo his senior season and enter the 2013 NFL Draft. He was ranked as the second best tight end prospect in the draft by ESPN Scouts Inc. He was one of 19 tight ends to attend the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana. He completed all of the combine and positional drills and finished second in the bench press, third in the three-cone drill, and finished ninth, among all tight ends, in the 40-yard dash. On March 24, 2013, Ertz attended Stanford's pro day and opted to perform some of the drills again in an attempt to shorten some of his times and increase his vertical and broad jump. He successfully posted better numbers in the 40-yard dash (4.67s), 20-yard dash (2.74s), 10-yard dash (1.64s), vertical jump (35.5"), and broad jump (9'6"). During the pre-draft process, he attended private visits and workouts with the Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Ertz was projected to be a late first round pick or second round pick in the draft by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked the second best tight end prospect in the draft by Sports Illustrated, DraftScout.com, SBNation, and NFL analysts Mike Mayock, Mel Kiper, and Rob Rang. Ertz was also ranked the fifth best tight end by NFL analyst Josh Norris.
The Philadelphia Eagles selected Ertz in the second round (35th overall) of the 2013 NFL draft. He was the second tight end drafted behind Notre Dame's Tyler Eifert, but ahead of future Pro Bowlers Travis Kelce and Jordan Reed and fellow Stanford teammate Levine Toilolo. Head coach Chip Kelly explained the selection of Ertz and his plan to use three-tight end sets that had been successfully used by the New England Patriots. On May 9, 2013, the Philadelphia Eagles signed Ertz to a four-year, $5.37 million contract that included $3.65 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $2.29 million. Ertz was unable to attend organized team activities due to the NFL's policy on players completing their college quarter before joining their team's off-season programs. He arrived in June and joined the team in time to participate in the Eagles' minicamp. Throughout training camp, he competed to be the No. 2 tight end on the depth chart against veterans James Casey and Clay Harbor. Head coach Chip Kelly named Ertz the third tight end on the depth chart to begin the regular season, behind Brent Celek and James Casey. He made his professional regular season debut in the Philadelphia Eagles' season-opener at the Washington Redskins and made his first career reception on an 11-yard pass by Michael Vick in the first quarter of their 33–27 victory. He was targeted three times, but only finished with one reception. On September 29, 2013, Ertz earned his first career start after surpassing James Casey on the depth chart and was designated as the top receiving option at tight end. He finished the Eagles' 52–20 loss at the Denver Broncos with one reception for 38 yards. In Week 9, he made five receptions for 42 yards and caught his first career touchdown during a 49–20 victory at the Oakland Raiders. He scored his first career touchdown on a 15-yard pass from quarterback Nick Foles in the second quarter and caught the fourth of the NFL-record tying seven touchdown passes thrown by Foles during the game. On December 1, 2013, Ertz made five catches for a season-high 68 receiving yards and two touchdowns during a 24–21 win against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 13. It marked his first career game with multiple touchdown receptions. In Week 15, he caught a season-high six passes for 57 yards in the Eagles' 48–30 loss at the Minnesota Vikings. He finished his rookie season in 2013 with 36 receptions for 469 receiving yards and four touchdowns in 16 games and three starts. The Philadelphia Eagles finished first in the NFC East with a 10–6 record in their first season under head coach Chip Kelly. On January 4, 2014, Ertz appeared in his first career playoff game and made three receptions for 22 yards and caught a seven-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Nick Foles in the Eagles' 26–24 loss to the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Wild Card Round.
Ertz returned as the primary receiving tight end in 2014, but remained second on the Eagles' depth chart behind Brent Celek who was more well rounded and able to receive, but was used primarily as a blocking tight end. In Week 14, he made two receptions for 39 yards and caught a season-long 35-yard touchdown in the Eagles' 24–14 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. On December 20, 2014, Ertz caught a career-high 15 receptions for 115 receiving yards during a 27–24 loss at the Washington Redskins in Week 16. He finished his second season with 58 receptions for 702 yards and three touchdowns in 16 games and five starts. Although the Philadelphia Eagles finished with a 10–6 record, they did not qualify for the playoffs.
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.
