Matt Ryan

Ryan married Sarah Marshall on April 2, 2011, and the couple has two children. He grew up in Pennsylvania as the son of Michael and Bernice Ryan and has three siblings. His cousin, Mike McGlinchey, is also a professional football player.

Throughout his time in Atlanta, Ryan established multiple community initiatives. He founded the annual Matt Ryan Celebrity-Am Classic to support Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and hosted the annual Matt Ryan Football Camp at Centennial High School to provide local youth with athletic instruction. He also participated in charitable events for the Children's Miracle Network and supported the Metro Atlanta Boys & Girls Club through ticket and apparel donations.

Ryan played collegiate football for the Boston College Eagles, where he developed into one of the program's most accomplished passers. In 2004, he received the school's Mall Scholar-Athlete Award before taking over as the full-time starting quarterback. During his senior campaign in 2007, Ryan earned ACC Player of the Year honors and won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.

In his final college season, Ryan broke Doug Flutie's single-season school record by throwing 31 touchdown passes and amassed 4,507 passing yards. He set Boston College records for career completions with 807 and pass attempts with 1,347, while his 9,313 career passing yards ranked third in program history behind Flutie and Glenn Foley. He led the Eagles to an impressive record, winning over 76 percent of his 34 collegiate starts.

The Atlanta Falcons selected Ryan with the third overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft. He made an immediate impact, starting all 16 games as a rookie, winning 11 games, and earning the Associated Press NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Ryan quickly became the centerpiece of Atlanta's offense, earning his first Pro Bowl selection in 2010 and guiding the Falcons to the NFC Championship Game in the 2012 season.

Ryan's finest season came in 2016, when he won both the AP NFL MVP and AP Offensive Player of the Year honors. He completed 69.9 percent of his passes for 4,944 yards, 38 touchdowns, and only seven interceptions, recording a league-leading 117.1 passer rating. During that campaign, he set an NFL record by throwing touchdown passes to 13 different receivers. He led Atlanta to an NFC Championship title and a berth in Super Bowl LI, where he recorded a 144.1 passer rating.

Over 14 seasons in Atlanta, Ryan surpassed Steve Bartkowski to become the franchise's all-time leader in career passing yards, touchdowns, completions, and pass attempts. He also achieved 10 consecutive seasons with at least 4,000 passing yards, matching Drew Brees for one of the longest such streaks in NFL history.

After 14 seasons in Atlanta, Ryan was traded to the Indianapolis Colts in 2022. He started 12 games during his lone season with Indianapolis, throwing for 3,057 yards and 14 touchdowns. Across his entire 15-year NFL playing career, he accumulated 62,792 passing yards and 381 touchdown passes.

Ryan concluded his playing career by signing a ceremonial one-day contract with Atlanta to retire as a member of the Falcons. Following his retirement from the field, he served as an NFL analyst for CBS Sports and was inducted into the Atlanta Falcons Ring of Honor.